Economist and currency analyst at GC Capital Limited, Courage Boti has revealed that, the perennial inflation pressures and cedi depreciation is as a result of the import-depending economy the country run.
According to the economist, Ghana’s continuous reliance on imported product will weaken our currency and elevate inflation.
“Taxes, inflation and the exchange rate pressure are hurting everybody. The thing causing the high inflation is partly, the exchange rate, and it will always go to pricing because we are an import-depending country,” he said.
Mr. Boti who was speaking in an interview with Accra-based CITI TV, added that, the current inflation and cedi depreciation could persist for a while as solutions are medium to long term.
He said, slowing down the rates of inflation and depreciation of the cedi requires measures beyond the short term, “As long as our exchange rate is depreciating, inflation will always be elevated. The solutions are medium to long term”, the economist stressed.
Mr. Courage Boti said government must focus its attention on addressing the basic issues causing the depreciation that is hitting the business community and the pockets of the ordinary Ghanaian.
There is nothing anybody can do immediately to bring inflation down. What we should be pushing for is getting government to do the right thing”, he said on The Point of View on Citi TV.
He wants the Bank of Ghana to rather find a more sustainable approach that enables the country to withstand the pressures.
“Government is in a fix, the Central Bank is financing some of the deficit which is in itself inflationary, adding to the problem. That is why the interest rate is high. That approach is not sustainable, so we need to find a middle ground. The approach we have used in managing our exchange rate hasn’t been sustainable, and we will always be vulnerable to investor sentiments, that is why we are suffering the consequences of that approach and there is no quick fix really.”
Source: theGhanaianvoice.com