US economist Steve Hanke urges Ghana to set up currency board to save cedi free fall

Professor of Applied Economics at the Johns Hopkins University, Steve Hanke has made a proposal on how the government of Ghana can save the cedi from crashing.

In his latest Hanke Currency Watchlist, Ghana is ranked 15^th among a list of nineteen currencies.

According to Prof. Steve Hanke, the Ghanaian currency has since January 2020 depreciated 34.17% against the USD.

Insisting that things could get worse, he has proposed that a currency board is set up immediately to save the Ghanaian cedi.

“By my calculations, the Ghanaian #cedi has since Jan. 2020, which is why #Ghana is in 15th place in this week's Hanke’s #CurrencyWatchlist. To save the cedi, Ghana must mothball its central bank and install a #CurrencyBoard,” Prof. Steve Hanke said in a post on his Twitter page.

As of Monday, August 8, 2022, the Ghanaian cedi is trading at GHS9.20 to USD1. While the government has given the assurance that necessary measures are being implemented for the cedi to stand on its feet, it is yet to yield any result.