Business community call on gov’t to peg cedi exchange rate against dollar

A section of the business community has asked the government to, with immediate effect, peg the cedi at a fixed exchange rate against the dollar.

This they say has become necessary following the recent depreciation of the cedi against the dollar.

Prices of goods and services have in the past weeks witnessed significant increases due to the situation, with business associations warning of further increases in the prices of goods in the coming weeks. Currently, the dollar is selling at around 7 cedis 13 pesewas on the foreign exchange market and at around 7 cedis 70 pesewas across some forex bureaus.

In an interview with Citi Business News, General Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, Samson Asaki Awingobit said prices of goods and services affected by the dollar will continue to shoot up if government fails to put the necessary measures in place.

“It is likely that we are going to see a further increase in the prices of goods and services because one can no longer maintain a thousand cedis when you change one dollar to 7 cedis 40 pesewas. We need to shore up. We are calling on government to peg the cedi at 8 cedis for the rest of the year, then this can give relief to the business community, and we can plan other than that it’s going to be difficult”

“If you go to other countries, pegging is done, and I’m sure that government can also do so. Then both businessmen and consumers can plan because with what is happening now you will see quarrels between consumers and sellers and that is not good for the government”.

Source: Ghana Business