Deloitte wants govt to assure business leaders that Cedi appreciation is not temporary

The Country Managing Partner of Deloitte Ghana, Daniel Kwadwo Owusu has urged the government to assure Business Leaders that the recent appreciation of the cedi is not temporary.

According to him, some businesses are uncertain about the future of the cedi.

“There are also the issues about high utility tariffs, high transportation costs and the general cost of doing business”, he disclosed this at the 9th Ghana CEO Summit and Expo.

Speaking on the topic “Transforming Business and Governance for Ghana’s Economic Reset”, Mr. Owusu advised the government to avoid short-term measures that don’t create lasting stability without fundamental reforms.

He continued that a strong currency is great, but it does not automatically lower prices if domestic cost pressures (transport, energy) are not tackled.

Diversify Economy to Make it Stronger

He also called for the diversification of the economy since the Ghanaian economy is still over reliant on gold and cocoa, adding, “Diversification will make our economy less vulnerable to those big global price swings”.

“Taking a retrospective of 2017 after the IMF bailout programme, the cedi recovered for a period and inflation fell to about 11.8%. Interestingly, as it is happening now, consumer prices didn’t drop significantly”.

“They stayed relatively high because of those deeper structural issues in the economy that have not been addressed”, he added.

Meanwhile, Mr. Owusu urged businesses to respond to the changes in the economy.

He expressed worry about certain companies still quoting different rates for foreign exchange compared to those from the Bank of Ghana, saying, this is not a reset behaviour.

“I am speaking to CEOs because there cannot be an economic reset unless we transform as a people”, he alluded.

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