Some Ghanaians have reacted to the continuous depreciation of the cedi, indicating how it affects their daily lives.
The Ghana cedi(GH₵), as of Wednesday, May 22, 2024, was trading at GH₵14.48 at forex bureaux against the US dollar (USD).
Key business stakeholders like the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) and the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) have also expressed concern over the state of the cedi with the latter calling for a national dialogue on how best the situation can be controlled.
Some citizens in an interview with The Ghana Report on the episode of Citizen Watchdogs lamented how the continuous depreciation of the cedi is significantly affecting their online transactions.
Racheal, a university graduate who prefers to purchase most of her items online said; “Anytime I hear that the dollar rate has increased, I just feel sad being a Ghanaian because how can 1 dollar be equivalent to almost GH¢15.00? How did we get here as a country? This depreciation in the cedi is the main reason for inflation on nearly every item in Ghana. The cost of living has become so high that, common sanitary towels, which is a need for every teenage girl have become so expensive that, we can’t afford them. Now online businesses are collapsing because of this same cedi depreciation.
“I used to order things online, but now I’ve stopped because you can buy an item for GH¢100.00 and only the shipping fee will be like GH¢300.00. Why should it be so? I think the increase in dollar rate in the country doesn’t affect only businessmen or business moguls, rather, it affects everyone so the government should take proper measures to put in place for the cedi to appreciate just as they promised before coming to power,” she noted with The Ghana Report.
Another interviewee who practices photography as a profession indicated that although he does not trade in dollars, the depreciated cedi affects items, he uses for his work.
“I barely trade in dollars but the goods I buy are bought in dollars so the hike is increasing the cost of work,” he noted.
Esther Mills, an entrepreneur who expressed her opinion on how dire the situation is affecting her indicated that most of her items, especially clothing are purchased online therefore, the government should find a solution to the problem.
Another interviewee who engaged The Ghana Report noted, “Depreciation of the cedi against the major foreign currencies has affected me as an individual by spending more cedis on the usual goods and services I used to buy thereby increasing my expenditure.
“Meanwhile, my net salary has not increased but its value has reduced drastically because I get less of what I want by the same amount.
In simple terms, the depreciation of the cedi has increased my cost of living, increased in prices of goods and services, less or no savings”.
Prosper Korankye, an accountant who spoke with The Ghana Report during the Citizen Watchdogs episode also lamented, “Personally, with the rapid increase of dollar as against the cedi depreciation is alarming giving rise to the cost of domestic stuff, a classic example is food used to be bought at low cost has high volume now, cost of transport from a place of abode to workplace and other places are suppressing, making plans mesmerizing and monthly budgets falling outside its scope”.
Meanwhile, the president of GUTA, Dr Joseph Obeng, in a statement early on noted that the cedi depreciation has created a mess for the business community, especially the trading sector.
GUTA added that the economic crisis and the ever-rising freight charges from Asia are making business unbearable.
“The current state of affairs has far-reaching implications and has caused prices of goods and services to increase for the consuming public”.
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GUTA recounts how the inflationary pressures resulting from the depreciating cedi have pushed the cost of goods through the roof, making it increasingly difficult for businesses to stay afloat.
“The purchasing power of the consuming public has been affected, thereby reducing the turnover of businesses”.
Good wokdone by the reporter. Keep it up.
I pledge with government to devise ways to resolve this challenge