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The taste of Ghanaians for foreign products, said President Akufo-Addo, is the reason for the annual depreciation of the cedi.
It believes that if Ghanaians made some of the many products they imported and / or protected locally produced products, the annual depreciation of the local currency would not occur.
According to President Akufo-Addo, the depreciation of the Cedi affects everyone in the country. "I think our public discourse should also begin to focus more on some of the structural issues related to our currency. Yes, there are times when you can fall … but there are structural problems that we have not yet articulated quite strongly in my opinion.
"We live in a country where we are excessively dependent on the importation of products essential to our daily subsistence. We can continue to produce them, we continue to import them and, at the same time, we do not generate enough exports.
"This is the problem of the current account, the persistent deficit of our national income statistics on the current account. That's what gives rise to fragility or our currency, "said the president.
He was speaking to a delegation of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) headed by its president, Anthony Forson.
Mr. Forson, who worried about the Cedi's depreciation during his interaction with the president, asked that something be done to remedy the situation.
His worries follow the sharp depreciation of the cedi against its main international currencies, including the dollar, last week. The cedi has depreciated from 4.9 to around 5.6 ¢, raising fears among the business community.
However, it seems to have started a marginal appreciation this week, selling Tuesday at 5.3 ¢ cedis for a dollar.
But the president wants long-term measures to put an end to the annual depreciation.
He added that the excessive dependence on imports was "at the root of the real fragility of our currency, as of all the social and political problems, once you are able to. attract the attention of people, then, of course, solutions ensue.
"But if, in a consistent way, you only sulk on the periphery, you never go to the center of the problem and that is the center of the problem.
"If you buy things abroad, you create jobs outside of Ghana that you could create in the interior of this country. We must focus on that and at the same time be much more competitive in our attitude to the things we produce. "
President Akufo-Addo revealed that the Ministry of Commerce would soon be presenting Ghana's import profile list, so that Ghanaians see what they use to buy.
"I'm willing to bet that 70% of the items on this list are items that we could produce for ourselves in our country," added the president, adding that "it's the importance of One District One Factory initiative ".
"It's not just a political gimmick, it's an attempt to tackle the problem of self-sufficiency. All this Ghana mantra Beyond the help that is now abroad is about it. It's about self-sufficiency, about doing things for ourselves that we always depend on people. "
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