President of the Ghana Union of Traders' Associations (GUTA), Dr.
Joseph Obeng, is urging the government to take urgent steps to sustain the recent gains made by the cedi.
He is warning that failure to do so will derail recovery efforts and dampen hopes of easing inflation and interest rates. "This gain will come to nothing if we are not able to sustain it," he said on PM Express on JoyNews. "It's very important that we now talk about the predictability and sustainability of these gains." Dr.
Obeng said members of the trading community are hesitant to reduce prices despite the cedi's recent appreciation because they've been down this road before. "The trading community have been asking me… 'Are you sure this is going to be sustained?'" he said. "They are saying, are you not rushing to come and tell us to transfer the gains of the cedi and all that?" For him, the answer lies in strong and consistent economic management. "Whatever thing we have to do, if government puts prudent mechanisms and the Bank of Ghana has put very stringent controls on the forex, we have to be able to maintain it," he stressed.
