Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Johnson Asiama, says he is a man on a mission; a mission to curb the menace of the dollarization of Ghana’s economy and make the cedi a currency of choice by the time his tenure comes to an end.
The governor announced this mission at the ongoing World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in the United States.
With emotion, a voice of conviction in his tone, he recounted how his years of experience in central banking have exposed him to the menace he believes is part of Ghana’s economic woes.
He further admitted that despite efforts to address the situation, it continues to persist.
For Ghanaians, the cedi should be more than just money. It should be a symbol of national pride. Yet, decades of inflation, depreciation, and economic shocks have chipped away at confidence in the local currency. In many high-value transactions, from rent payments to car sales, the U.S. dollar often takes precedence, despite laws designating the cedi as Ghana’s sole legal tender.
The governor says he has resolved to end this menace. His revelation comes at a very symbolic time. Later this month, the nation will mark “Cedi at 60”, a milestone the Bank of Ghana hopes will inspire renewed confidence in the local currency. The celebration is part of efforts to drive home the agenda of embracing the local currency as the medium of storage in the country.
For Dr. Asiama, he says he wants to be remembered after his tenure as the governor who upheld the value and integrity of the cedi.
“A couple of things bother me. First of all, the issue of dollarization. I’ve seen this for many years. I started central banking some 30 years ago. The phenomenon has been there. And so we are tackling it. What can we do to make the local currency the sole legal tender? And so on the 28th of this month, we are having a celebration. We call it the Cedi at 60. The local currency will be 60 years old this year. And we want that to mark a new beginning,” he pledged.
He added, “when we use the local currency in all transactions, that enhances the efficiency of monetary policy. It’s at the core of most of our problems. And so it’s one of the things I would want to be remembered for, that I came, I solved that problem. I made the local currency, you know, the currency of choice.”
But his dream is not without its skeptics. Professor Pat Obi, a U.S.-based finance scholar, believes that the country may need to face the reality of dollarization rather than fight it head-on.
The finance professor believes dollarization is already deeply entrenched and that Ghana should explore adopting the U.S. dollar as a medium of exchange.
However, the Governor of the Central Bank sees a future where the cedi isn’t just legal tender, but a symbol of restored confidence and a currency Ghanaians use with pride, not by obligation, and he says he is committed to ensuring that.
