University of Ghana economist Prof. Godfred Bokpin says Ghana’s policy managers have turned exchange rate management into a competition for praise rather than a tool for building a productive economy.
Speaking to The High Street Journal, he said policymakers have treated a temporarily strong cedi as a political trophy, using it to project economic competence even when the underlying fundamentals remain weak.
According to Prof. Bokpin, this obsession with optics has come at a heavy price. He explained that the billions of cedis pumped into defending the currency could have been channelled into productive sectors to stimulate investment, create jobs, and expand domestic production.
He noted that the drive to keep the cedi strong has drained liquidity, pushed interest rates higher, and weakened business confidence, conditions that ultimately hurt growth more than they help.
“The exchange rate has become a political tool,” he said. “Governments are eager to boast about a strong cedi, even when it strains the economy.”
Prof. Bokpin drew a comparison with China’s economic strategy, noting that despite holding one of the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves, China has historically maintained a managed, stable exchange rate rather than chasing an artificially strong currency.
He said that reflects a clear strategic vision, not a reactionary obsession with one indicator when the broader economy is not taken into account.
He argued that Ghana’s approach, in contrast, reflects short-term thinking, focusing on symbolic wins at the expense of long-term resilience. He warned that the illusion of currency strength is masking deeper structural weaknesses that threaten jobs and growth.
“Economic strength is not about short-term numbers,” he cautioned. “Real progress is when the economy creates jobs and opportunities.”
Prof. Bokpin urged Ghana’s policy managers to focus on what is economically right rather than “looking good politically,” stressing that short-term optics are undermining development and real sector confidence, and that they should think long term.
