BoG schools Bawumia over exchange rate figures

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Henry Kofi Wampah, has said the Central Bank will be digging its own grave if it cooked foreign exchange rate figures.

Speaking on the issue of figure manipulation leveled against his outfit by a former deputy Governor of the BoG, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Central Bank boss said there are disparities in the figures due to “speculative activities.”

He said: “We believe the rates in the market are also affected significantly by speculative activities, which is thriving on the shortage of forex in the market. So those who have the forex try to play market by asking for the highest rates and the ones who do buy because of desperation also tell their banks to buy at any rate, so you see that gap.”

The 2012 running mate of the New Patriotic Party in a statement recently said figures from the Ghana Statistical Service and the Bank of Ghana “raise serious concerns” since the exchange rate, in particular, keeps varying.

“The Bank of Ghana (BoG) would have us believe that since June 17 this year, the exchange rate of the cedi to the US dollar has remained unchanged at some Ghc3.02 per US dollar. According to the BoG, the exchange rate has remained fixed at this rate over the last three months. A simple look at the interbank market exchange rates indicates that the cedi has not only been depreciating daily, but is currently trading between Ghc3.7 and Ghc4.1 per dollar with an average of some Ghc3.8 per US dollar,” the economist-turned-politician argued.

However, Dr Wampah said on the sidelines of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting Wednesday: “A simple look at the interbank market exchange rates indicates that the Cedi has not only been depreciating daily, but is currently trading between Ghc3.7 and Ghc4.1 per dollar with an average of some Ghc3.8 per US dollar.”

Meanwhile, the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged after the government sold $1 billion in Eurobonds and began talks with the International Monetary Fund, helping to revive confidence in the economy.

The Monetary Policy Committee maintained the rate at a decade-high of 19 percent.