By: Ashiadey Dotse
The Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has cautioned government that relying on market intermediation to stabilize the cedi cannot be a permanent solution if structural issues are not solved. He said the approach was only meant to be a temporary measure, and warned that the persistent use of it shows that the real economic problems remain unresolved.
Speaking on GTV’s Breakfast Show on Tuesday December 2, 2025, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah explained that government continues to pump foreign exchange into the market to hold the cedi, instead of fixing long-standing structural issues in the economy. According to him, this approach is risky and unsustainable.
He recalled that during the COVID-19 period, economic growth dropped sharply to 0.9 percent under the Akuffo Addo Administration, which reduced government revenue and foreign exchange earnings. This forced the country to rely heavily on the little forex reserves available, eventually leading to sharp depreciation of the cedi and the need to seek IMF support.
The former Information Minister said the previous administration introduced a gold purchase programme to help generate more forex and later added the gold-for-oil initiative. He noted that although the currency depreciated to about GH¢17 to the dollar in 2024, market intermediation helped reduce it to about GH¢14 before they left office.
He saidmarket intermediation was never meant to be permanent, stating that it was supposed to give the market time to recover while government fixed the structural issues.”
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah warned that the current government under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama appears to have turned the temporary measure into a long-term strategy simply because gold prices are high, currently around $4,000 per ounce. He explained that this windfall will not last forever, and depending on it could expose the country to further shocks.
He also pointed out that Ghana’s import bill has risen to $14 billion as of October, compared to $12 billion the previous year, placing more pressure on forex demand. Additionally, he revealed that government has spent about $8 billion from the country’s reserves trying to support the cedi.
“If government was not dumping reserves on the market, what would the exchange rate look like today?” he asked. “This shows that the fundamental problems have not been fixed.”
Oppong Nkrumah urged government to pay attention to structural reforms instead of repeating past mistakes by the previous administration. He said the country has a “fantastic opportunity” to make lasting changes but risks losing it if temporary measures are treated as permanent solutions.
He advised the current government to learn from their mistakes and deal with the real issues, so that the cedi can be stable without artificial support.
