6 things you need to know about the FX Developments Committee

The committee is called the FX Developments Committee. This is in fulfillment of a promise made by the ministry in 2019 to constitute a bi-partisan committee to look into the problem and help address it.

Deputy Minister of Finance said the committee’s work is expected to complement the efforts of the Bank of Ghana in preventing the cedi from its fast depreciation against other major foreign currencies.

“The formation of this committee is not to infringe on the independence of the central bank in its foreign exchange operations,” he said.

Most Ghanaians have criticized the government for the creation of the committee arguing that this is a duplication of the BoG’s mandate.

Here are 6 things you need to know about the committee

1. Establishing the committee

The Cabinet directed for the creation of the committee and was endorsed by Parliament.

Addressing Parliament on March 28, 2019, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, said: “The President has directed that I investigate the structural causes for the depreciation of the cedi and to propose measures to address the situation. The Governor and I will put a bipartisan committee together to proceed immediately.”

At the time he was in Parliament to make a statement on Ghana’s exit of a three-year IMF bail-out programme, the Eurobond success as well as the depreciation of the Ghana cedi.

2. Chairmanship

The committee is chaired by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

3. Membership

The 38-member committee has the Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen and Owusu Afriyie-Akoto, Agriculture Minister and other experts on board.

The members were drawn from 26 different institutions.

The Finance Ministry has the highest number of members with seven members while there are three people from the Bank of Ghana.

4. Resignation

A member of the committee, Benjamin Kpodo, MP for Ho Central, resigned from the committee even before it could start work. He said that he did not consent to his name being added to the list.

5. Final Report

The committee’s final report will be presented to the government’s Economic Policy Coordinating Committee (EPCC) co-chaired by BoG Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison, and Ken Ofori-Atta.

6. Terms of Reference

The terms of reference of the FX Committee will be effective from July 2019 to August 2021. The committee’s mandate is to review, assist and provide recommendations on how to improve management, transparency and the long-term structure of Ghana’s foreign exchange flows.