Former President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the current economic conditions in the country, which he believes has resulted in debilitating living conditions over several decades.
According to him, Ghana’s economy, has, in the past few years, been lurched into one crisis after another with almost no end in sight.
In a tweet shared on Friday, November 4, 2022, the former president said the Ghana cedi had depreciated by over 62 percent to the US Dollar in just ten months this year, making it the highest in recent memory.
“In the last few years, our economy has lurched from crisis to crisis, ultimately resulting in the most debilitating living conditions in several decades,” John Mahama wrote.
“Within a space of ten months, our currency has depreciated by over 62% against the US$, which is the highest in recent memory,” he added.
The current economic challenges in Ghana have reached unprecedented levels as citizens, businesses, and residents have been grappling to make ends meet in rather turbulent times.
Ghana’s local currency has since been ranked by Bloomberg as the worst performing in the world against the US dollar, overtaking the Sri Lanka rupee.
Bloomberg, at the time of the ranking, said the cedi had tumbled by about 50 percent to the US dollar.
This has resulted in an upsurge in the cost of living, persistent fuel price hikes, job losses, worker agitations, and general frustration among the Ghanaian populace, which has been brewing for months.
Although President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has formally admitted the country has been plunged into a crisis, hopes of securing an IMF support programme to restore macroeconomic stability have been put into question by economic experts.
In the last few years, our economy has lurched from crisis to crisis, ultimately resulting in the most debilitating living conditions in several decades. Within a space of ten months, our currency has depreciated by over 62% against the US$, which is the highest in recent memory.
File photo of Ghana cedis and dollar notes