Experts debate cedi appreciation: smart policy or external factors?

The Member of Parliament for South Dayi and Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, says the recent appreciation of the Ghanaian cedi against the US dollar is mainly due to smart and deliberate policies put in place by the government.

Speaking on TV3’s Key Points on May 14, 2025, Mr. Dafeamekpor praised Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson and Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Johnson Asiama for their hard work in improving the value of the cedi.

“This is not happening whimsically. It is taking very deliberate policies and programmes. Now you have a new governor and the finance minister and his team who are spending sleepless nights fashioning top class policies to make sure that we start on healthy note and people are saying external factors, I agree. But when Trump withdrew the US Aid we lost $200 million, it could have done something for the Cedi, it hasn’t come in, we had to go and look for that money,” he said.

“What is happening is actually two smart guys, Dr. Ato Forson and Dr. Asiama sitting down and listening to other smart guys they have put together and they are working. I think that’s where the credit should go,” he added.

However, financial analyst Joe Jackson, who also spoke on Key Points on May 17, believes that external factors have played a big role in the cedi’s recent strength.

“External factors have been good to Ghana and we have put ourselves in a position where we can take advantage of the external factors and it is very important to appreciate both sides of the divide,” he said.

He explained that the US trade war has weakened the dollar against major world currencies, and this has brought down oil prices. Since Ghana imports a lot of fuel, the drop in oil prices has reduced pressure on the cedi.

“The Trump tariff war has had three effects on us,” he explained. “The dollar has depreciated… fuel prices have gone down… and investors have turned to gold, which has increased Ghana’s gold exports and strengthened the cedi.”