Strengthening Dollar Poses Risk Unless Ghana Tackles Economic Vulnerabilities – BoG Governor

Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Asiama, has warned that Ghana’s economic stability could come under pressure if existing structural weaknesses are not addressed, particularly in the event of a stronger United States dollar.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra, Dr Asiama acknowledged recent signs of economic improvement but stressed that the country remains exposed to external shocks due to its heavy dependence on a narrow range of primary commodity exports.

Asked about his concerns regarding the economy, the Governor said he had no immediate worries, but pointed to long-standing vulnerabilities that require urgent attention.

“Well, I don’t have any worries. But the fact remains that we are basically another commodity-exporting country. What do we export? Three items: oil, cocoa, and gold, and most of them we export as primary products. When you are a country like that, you are always exposed to external shocks.

“If the U.S. dollar strengthens for any reason, that will have a very significant impact on us. And so, my worry is that we tackle some of these vulnerabilities.”

According to Dr Asiama, the central bank is taking steps within its mandate to reduce exposure to such risks, including efforts to build adequate foreign exchange reserves.

“That’s one of the things we can do,” he said, adding, however, that monetary measures alone would not be sufficient to address the broader structural challenges facing the economy.

He called for deeper reforms aimed at expanding domestic processing and increasing value addition across Ghana’s key export sectors, noting that such measures were already beginning to feature in government policy discussions.

“But I want to see more of structural programs. I see some of that in the [2026] budget, which is very good. Can we do more and more processing, more value addition to the items that we export? Talking about oil, can we process some more of that ourselves? Talking about gold, can we process some more of that? Some gold refineries have been set up. Can we get them to be very active? And then, cocoa, can we not set up cocoa factories in Switzerland to produce the chocolates there? So, there are various ideas to process more, and for me, that is one thing I would want to see.”

Dr Asiama emphasised that strengthening domestic value chains would not only reduce vulnerability to global currency movements but also help sustain recent economic gains.

“If we can add more value, that will address our vulnerabilities and help to preserve the stability we’ve been able to achieve in this first year. So, that is always at the back of my mind.”

He added that the central bank continues to engage closely with the Ministry of Finance on these issues, expressing optimism that the proposed reforms would be implemented with urgency.

“We work closely with the finance minister, and we discuss these things at length. I want to believe that these are going to be pursued aggressively, and things should be alright,” he said.