By Ashiadey Dotse
President John Dramani Mahama says Ghana’s cedi notes are due for a security makeover to stay ahead of counterfeiters.
According to the President, keeping the same currency in circulation for too long gives criminals the opportunity to study its security features and develop better ways of producing fake notes.
Speaking during his Resetting Ghana Tour in the Upper East Region, President Mahama said currencies should be refreshed periodically to strengthen their security.
“Every country, every ten years, you are supposed to refresh your currency because if you use the same currency for too long, people learn how to counterfeit it,” he said.
He described the cedi as “long overdue for refreshing” and disclosed that the Governor of the Bank of Ghana is already considering plans to update the currency.
President Mahama, however, clarified that the final decision on when and how the cedi will be refreshed rests with the Bank of Ghana.
“I know the governor has plans to refresh the currency and I am sure that at the appropriate time, the Bank of Ghana will let Ghanaians know what they are doing about it,” he said.
A refresh of the cedi would mainly involve introducing stronger and more modern security features to make the banknotes harder to counterfeit. It would not necessarily mean changing the value of the currency or redenominating the cedi.
The President also defended the current strength of the cedi, attributing its performance to what he described as sound economic management.
He said government’s economic policies had helped the cedi hold its value against major international currencies.
“Your currency is as strong as your economic management and because of the good policies we put in place, the cedi is holding its own against other major currencies,” he said.
President Mahama assured Ghanaians that government would continue to pursue policies to support the cedi, while the Bank of Ghana determines the timing and scope of any currency refresh.
