All efforts to maintain a stable cedi will amount to nothing should Ghana continue to import almost everything into the country despite the abundant resources to aid local production.
This is the blunt thought of an economist and lecturer in Enterprise Development at the Academic City University, Dr. Paul Appiah Konadu.
The economist maintains that Ghana’s economy is bleeding from a self-inflicted wound of the irony of a resource-rich nation importing what it could easily produce. Dr. Paul Appiah Konadu says the country’s obsession with importing goods is a major reason the cedi remains unstable; hence, expecting a stable cedi in this situation is just wishful thinking.
He tells The High Street Journal that it is frustrating for himself and many other Ghanaians that a country rich in gold, cocoa, oil, and fertile land struggles to feed itself.
Instead of leveraging these resources for value addition and industrialization, Ghana continues to rely on imports, draining scarce foreign exchange and putting relentless pressure on the cedi.
“Our cedi can never be stable if we keep importing everything into the country,” the economist declared, not as a prophet of doom but as a caution to the country.
The irony is jaw-dropping that a nation that exports raw cocoa but imports chocolate, drills oil but imports refined petroleum, and with abundant land, still imports rice, poultry, and even tomatoes. Each dollar spent on imported chips away at the cedi’s strength, making the cost of living heavier for ordinary citizens.
In his estimation, a nation that imported food worth $2 billion in just 2024 can’t expect its currency to rub shoulders with other trading currencies.
“In 2024, food imports alone amounted to $2 billion. Why can’t we produce the food we eat as a country with the vast arable land God has given us?” he quizzed.
Dr. Appiah Konadu believes the solution lies in import substitution industrialization. He reiterated for the umpteenth time that adding value to raw materials, investing in agribusiness, and creating industries that produce for both domestic consumption and export are the critical and fundamental things needed to maintain a stable currency.
He says, “Ghana must leverage its huge natural resource base for national development through value addition and import substitution industrialization.”
The economist adds that embarking on such a journey could create jobs, cut down imports, and give real strength to the cedi.
Dr. Appiah Konadu agrees with the age-old saying that until Ghana learns to eat what it grows and use what it has, the dream of a strong cedi will remain just that, a dream.
