Recent months have seen a sharp devaluation of the Ghana cedi against major trading currencies, particularly the US dollar.
A World Bank report designating the Ghana Cedi as the worst-performing currency in Africa relative to the US dollar has added to the problems of the local currency.
According to the Africa Pulse Report, as of September 19, the cedi had declined by 60% versus the dollar.
The report which tracked growth prospects and threats to African economies in 2022, also classified Ghana as a debt-distressed country with a debt-to-GDP ratio expected to surpass 100% by the end of the year.
Explaining why their depreciation rate is higher than the widely reported 40% figure, Accra-based Joy News report that the bank confirmed to them in an email correspondence that, “it used a different methodology to track the FX rate of depreciation from the beginning of this year to September 19 2022.”
That is why the World Bank arrived at the 60 percent rate of depreciation, compared to 40 percent if you are working with a 6.17 rate on December 31 and 10.09 in September 2022, the Joy News report added.