Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has dismissed comparisons between himself and former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia over the Ghana cedi’s performance, saying he will not claim to have “arrested” the local currency as his predecessor once did.
Speaking on PM Express on JoyNews shortly after presenting the 2025 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review in Parliament, Dr. Forson firmly rejected the notion that stabilising the cedi should be seen as a political trophy.
“I can’t say I have arrested the cedi,” he said. “The cedi has appreciated, that is what I can say. I’m not a policeman.”
His comments were a pointed jab at Dr. Bawumia, who famously declared in 2019 that the government had “arrested” the cedi’s depreciation. The phrase became a symbol of the ruling NPP’s economic messaging at the time, one that critics say later backfired amid economic headwinds.
Dr. Forson attributed the current relative stability of the cedi to what he called “fiscal discipline,” contrasting it sharply with what he described as the previous administration’s “recklessness.”
“They were spending recklessly when the central bank was printing money as if there was no tomorrow,” he said, accusing the Akufo-Addo administration of fuelling inflation and draining reserves.
“In contrast, we are disciplined. The central bank is no longer printing money. The Government of Ghana is consolidating fiscally, and as a result, we are rebuilding reserves.”
When pressed on whether the cedi’s appreciation was due to global factors, as claimed by Dr. Bawumia, the Finance Minister pushed back.
“If he [Bawumia] could fix it, why didn’t he do it during the eight years he was in office?” Dr. Forson asked. “He was the chairman of the Economic Management Team. He called himself the economic Messiah.”
Despite being shown data indicating a 42.6% appreciation of the cedi in recent months, Dr. Forson was measured in his response, stressing the importance of sustainability.
“We want to end the year with the same level of appreciation,” he said. “Our focus is on long-term stability, not slogans”, Dr. Forson Concluded.