Electronic Dealers Association advises Ofori-Atta on tackling exchange rate issues

The Ghana Electronics and Musical Instruments Dealers Association has made an appeal to the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to address the country’s exchange rate challenges during the mid-year budget review.

Vincent Osei, the Chairman of the association, urged the Finance Minister to consider fixing the cedi at a stable exchange rate to reduce the costs associated with conducting business in the country. He emphasized that a strong and stable cedi performance would be instrumental in lowering business expenses.

Speaking to Joy Business on the sidelines of an elderly health screening event, organized as part of the association’s 15th-anniversary celebration, Mr. Osei stated that businesses in Ghana face difficulties when the cedi experiences fluctuations, making it challenging to plan effectively. However, if the cedi remains fixed at a specific rate, it would allow businesses to strategize more effectively and facilitate smoother operations.

The cedi demonstrated stability against the US dollar in June 2023 and July 2024, which can be attributed to the positive impact of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program on Ghana. Data from the Bank of Ghana indicates that as of July 21, 2023, the cedi’s year-to-date depreciation rate stood at 22.1%, compared to 22.1% in March 2023, 21.7% in April 2023, 21.8% in May 2023, and 22.0% in June 2023.

Although the initial months of 2023 were not promising for the cedi, it eventually stabilized against the dollar in March 2023, and since then, it has maintained some level of stability against major foreign currencies up to the current date, July 22, 2023.