Our politicians sometimes take us for fools – Kwesi Pratt

General News of Monday, March 25, 2019

Source: peacefmonline.com

2019-03-25

The editor-in-chief of Insight newspaper described the party "organizing an evening at the Ministry of Finance to mark Ghana's exit from the IMF program and the over-subscription of the Eurobond, as well as the Appreciation of the Cedi ". the strangest ever "in the annals of the political history of the country by any government.

According to him, he does not see the need for such a celebration when the government has decided to extend the IMF program for one year without being invited.

Kwesi Pratt said the celebration gives the impression that Ghana is being rescued from the IMF; noting that on the very day of the celebration, Ghanaian newspapers announced that Ghana had obtained a $ 185.2 million loan from the same IMF.

"You are going to borrow, using the same things as Seth Terkper and Co. We had the same oversubscription under Mahama and Seth Terkper and there was no party to celebrate … and then we say that the Cedi started to enjoy, so there is a party to celebrate; Sometimes I think some of our politicians take us all for fools and that's what they do all the time, "he said.

He pointed out that "our politicians really believe that those of us who are lining up in the sun to vote for them must be big idiots, otherwise why are they going to behave this way?"

For him, no matter what currency a country trades in, the Cedi will continue to depreciate if there is a continuing reliance on others for things like toothpicks, tomatoes, clothes, shoes, glbades, etc. .

He explained that the value of a currency depends on a function of politics and the proper implementation of this policy as well as a function of international trade; adding that as long as Ghana has signed a foreign exchange retention agreement with mining companies allowing mining companies to retain 98% of the value of metals exported from the country to foreign banks, the Cedi will continue to depreciate.

"… these are the issues we should be looking at and not switching from the Cedi to other currencies, it does not solve any problem, because it is not the fundamental problem," said M Pratt.

He insisted that the fundamental problem of the country that forces the Cedi to continue to depreciate is that the country is not producing enough, Ghana has become an economy dependent on imports. by adding "all these things that are proposed as solutions, they do not work because they betray a fundamental lack of understanding of our economy".