A businessman and member of the governing New Patriotic Party, Solomon Owusu is urging executives of the Ghana Union Traders Association(GUTA) to seek a review of the Supreme Court’s decision in a case brought against the Bank of Ghana over the Cedi depreciation in 2015.
The apex Court in 2015 dismissed a case where a private legal practitioner, Dr. John Ephraim Baiden, was asking the court to order the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to introduce measures to stabilize the cedi.
According to a seven-member panel of the highest court of the land who sat on the case, they lacked the monetary policy capabilities to grant the reliefs of the applicant.
Dr Baiden who filed the case in July 2014 when the cedi was depreciating rapidly said he has lost wealth through foreign exchange rate losses and wants the court to direct BoG to provide a stable currency.
Before Dr Baiden filed the case in 2014, the Cedi had depreciated by about 40% against the dollar and other major currencies, a situation which forced traders to increase prices of goods and services, thus increasing the cost of living for Ghanaians.
He, however, argued that the situation got out of hand because Bank of Ghana failed in its duties to stabilise the Ghanaian currency.
GUTA in a statement on Monday, among other things, said its members are poised to demonstrate against the government over the free fall of the Cedi against major trading currencies, a situation which has left their businesses “bleeding to death.”
Commenting on the issue on Kasapa FM/Agoo TV Wednesday, Solomon Owusu who’s a politician cum Transporter, said a demonstration by GUTA is not the way to go.
He said going to court to seek a review of the 2015 case is the surest way to get the Bank of Ghana to sit up and ensure the Cedi is stabilized.
“Per Article 183 (2) (a) of the 1992 Constitution, the Bank of Ghana is mandated to promote and maintain the stability of the currency of Ghana and direct and regulate the currency system in the interest of the economic progress of Ghana. As a businessman, the performance of the cedi directly affects my business. At the start of this year, the Cedi was 5.7 to the Dollar, as we speak the Cedis is 9.00 to the Dollar, what it means is that I need more money to bridge that gap. Where am I going to get that money? The bank where I could have gotten a loan has also increased interest rates. What protection do businessmen have in Ghana? Members of GUTA are reeling under huge pressure due to the performance of the cedi. The Governor of the Bank of Ghana is sleeping on the job and why must we use taxpayers’ money to pay him,” Solomon Owusu fumed.
He added: “To the GUTA executive, I’m telling them that demonstration is not the way to go, demonstration is just keeping fit. Let us go back to the Supreme Court to seek a review of the decision of the Apex Court on the Cedi case and rather force the Bank of Ghana to play its role of promoting and maintaining the stability of the currency. Institutions in Ghana must be made to work to safeguard the interest of the people of this country.”
Source: Kasapafmonline.com