Isaac Adongo, the Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, has responded to criticisms from the Minister of Finance, Dr. Amin Adam, stating that he was simply telling Ghanaians the truth with his comments on the dollar.
Dr. Amin Adam criticised Adongo for urging businesses to purchase dollars if needed.
Speaking at a joint press conference with the Bank of Ghana and IMF officials, Dr. Adam slammed the Bolga Central MP, assuring that the government remains fully committed to providing stability in the exchange rate.
He also cautioned against speculating on the cedi’s current challenges, stating that such actions contribute to the currency’s woes.
Reacting to the comments, Isaac Agongo challenged the notion that his advice constituted unpatriotic speculation as described by the Finance Minister.
“What did I say that is not true? You said that after what you have done we should look forward to the dollar the following week, that was last week. Where is the dollar now? If you watch that video, you would have noticed that I was admonishing the people to desist from speculative buying but if you need money or dollars to do your business, don’t rely on what the finance minister said to fool you to your own detriment.
“So, if you needed dollars to do your business, by all means, you should go ahead and buy them. How is that unpatriotic?
“In any case are we not managing this economy to support businessmen as well? So, if I am asking the businessman to continue with his rational economic decision, how do you call that speculation…If the man needed a dollar to buy and it was GH¢15.5 and he didn’t buy it, today, it is GH¢15.7. Would the finance minister give him the additional monies that have been added to go and buy the dollar?” he quizzed.
