Congratulate the dollar, it has humiliated you beyond recognition – Omane Boamah jabs Bawumia

Former Communications Minister, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, has taken a dig at Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia over the dogged depreciation of the Cedi against the US Dollar. In a Facebook post dated October 13, he jabbed the Vice President asking that he should be sending his congratulations to the US dollar. This, he says was because the dollar has humiliated the Vice President beyond recognition, owing to its strong dominance over the local currency. Dr. Omane Boamah wrote: “Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia must be sending massive congratulations to the dollar. The dollar has humiliated him beyond recognition.” The Vice President together with the then-candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ahead of the 2016 elections berated the National Democratic Congress over what they said was the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi against major trading currencies. The duo indicated that they will implement policies and measures to curb the free fall of the Cedi when voted into office. Upon assumption of office, however, the Cedi has largely lost more ground against the dollar, only intermittently stabilizing against the dollar. It will be recalled that in 2017, Vice President Bawumia while giving an account of the first 100 days in office of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, indicated that they have been able to “arrest” the fall of the Ghana Cedi against the Dollar. But in recent times, the Cedi has fast depreciated crossing GH₵11.00 against the US dollar on the forex market. The situation has contributed partly in the surge in prices of goods and services as traders lament that without an increment, the exchange rate will erode their profit. You can also watch this episode of People & Places on GhanaWeb TV: DS/SARA