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Patrick Boamah urges Bank of Ghana to suspend forex injections
Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Boamah, has called on the Bank of Ghana to suspend its continuous foreign exchange injections, arguing that the economy must be allowed to adjust naturally to reflect the true cost of living.
Mr Boamah raised concerns about the amount of money being used to stabilise the cedi, questioning the long term impact of such interventions on national development.
He pointed out that government has spent about 10 billion dollars to support the currency, describing the figure as excessive.
According to him, allowing the economy to run on its own could have saved the country significant funds that could be used for development projects.
Mr Boamah explained that he was speaking as a lay person and not as an economist, but insisted that strong and practical economic policies should reduce the need to constantly support the currency.
He questioned why the state would continue to hold up the cedi with huge sums of money instead of allowing the economy to stand on its own.
He stressed that the key issue is the cost of such interventions to the state and how that compares with Ghana’s pressing development needs.
The Okaikwei Central MP argued that the Bank of Ghana should reduce its role in propping up the currency and allow market forces to reflect the real state of the economy.
In his view, constant intervention only masks underlying problems and creates a false sense of stability.
Mr Boamah noted that while official figures indicate inflation is around five percent, prices of goods and services continue to rise, creating a disconnect between economic data and the lived reality of Ghanaians.
He cited the changing prices of basic items such as bottled water as an example of how cost of living does not align with inflation figures being presented.
He raised concerns about transport fares, questioning why drivers are arrested over pricing disputes while the cost of living keeps rising.
According to him, these everyday experiences highlight the need to look beyond economic statistics and focus on the real conditions people face.
Mr Boamah maintained that allowing the economy to run on its own would provide a clearer picture of Ghana’s economic health and help policymakers take more realistic decisions.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The family of Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, a distinguished statesman and diplomat, has paid a courtesy call on President John Dramani Mahama. They officially informed him of his passing.
The delegation, representing the Gbeho family, noted that it was culturally and diplomatically important to formally notify the President of the loss before making a public announcement of his death.
Ambassador Gbeho was a towering figure in Ghanaian and international politics. He served in many diplomatic missions, including New York. He was Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, a Member of Parliament for the Anlo constituency, and President (formerly Executive Secretary) of the ECOWAS Commission.
He was widely respected for his role in regional integration and his contributions to global diplomacy at the United Nations.
President Mahama expressed his condolences and shared reflections on Ambassador Gbeho’s contributions to the country, West Africa and the world.
Funeral details will be announced later.
The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has revoked all firearm permits in Ghana with immediate effect and announced a new registration process for all gun owners.
The minister made the announcement on Tuesday, June 23, at the information service department saying all individuals who currently hold licences to own firearms or sidearms must undergo a fresh registration process.
“From this afternoon, all permits that have been granted to any individual that you are holding a sidearm or firearm is hereby revoked,” Mr Muntaka said.
He explained that the government had identified gaps in the country’s firearm registration system and needed to introduce stricter measures to improve public safety.
“We are opening the window where everyone will have to come forward again to register or re-register the gun because we’ve changed the procedure,” he stated.
According to him, the government decided not to wait until the end of the year to make the changes because lives could still be saved within the next six months.
The Interior Minister said one of the new requirements would be mandatory mental health screening for applicants seeking firearm licences.
“We’ve seen that people with mental health have already gone through and have the sidearm. Now we are introducing mental health. Before we give you the sidearm, we have to be sure that you have the mental stability to hold the firearms,” he said.
Mr Muntaka also announced that applicants would be required to undergo drug tests before being granted licences.
“We’ve also realised that people who are on drugs are also holding their arms and they are legitimate because it’s been registered. Now you have to go through drug tests to be sure that you are not on drugs before you can hold sidearms,” he added.
The minister said the new measures form part of efforts by the government to tighten firearm control and prevent legally registered weapons from falling into the wrong hands.
He urged all firearm owners to cooperate with the new registration process once details of the exercise are announced.
By: Jacob Aggrey
