The Bank of Ghana has introduced GH¢100 and GH¢200 notes in to country’s currency denomination and the GH¢2 coins.
The Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Ernest Addison, announced at a news conference in Accra on Friday that the face value of the cedi compared to the US dollar over the past 12 years had eroded due to sustained periods of high inflation and depreciation.
He believes that the new currencies will help shore up the value of the local currency.
According to him, the redenomination exercise is aimed at eliminating four zeros from the existing units of the currencies in an attempt to introduce efficiency in the economy and removes the dead-weight burden associated with transactions.
“At the time of the redenomination in July 2007, the GH¢1 was equivalent to US$1, the highest denomination then was the GH¢50, which was equivalent to the GH¢50. Twelve years after the redenomination exercise, sustained periods of high inflation and the perennial depreciation of the currency has eroded in real terms the face value of the series of notes,” he said.
Meanwhile, the minority in Parliament is asking for the total cost of printing the new notes, while a section of the general public has also condemned the action of the Bank of Ghana, saying that the government has printed the new currency to get more money for next year’s elections.
DAP/GIK/APA