Mr Isaac Adongo, Lead Member of Parliament’s Committee on Finance, responded to criticism from Finance Minister Amin Adamu, saying his remarks on the dollar were simply telling Ghanaians the truth.
Dr Amin Adamu criticised Mr Adongo for urging companies to buy dollars if needed.
Dr Adamu, speaking at a joint press conference with Bank of Ghana and IMF officials, slammed the Volga Central lawmaker and assured that government remains committed to stabilising the exchange rate.
He also warned against speculating on the cedi’s current challenges, saying such actions would add to the currency’s woes.
Reacting to comments Eyewitness NewsIsaac Agongo disputed the Finance Minister’s claim that his advice amounted to unpatriotic speculation.
“What have I said that is not true? You said after what you did, we can expect dollars next week, but that was last week. Where are the dollars now? If you watched that video, you would have noticed that I was warning people to stop speculative buying, but if you need money or dollars to do business, do not be fooled by the Finance Minister’s statements to your own detriment.
“So if you need dollars to do business, then by all means buy dollars. How is that unpatriotic?”
“In any case, aren’t we also running this economy to support businessmen? So if we are asking businessmen to continue to make rational economic decisions, would you call it speculation… If a person needed to buy one dollar 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 extra money to buy dollars?” he asked.
