Speaking on The Point of View, he blamed traders importing finished goods for contributing to the struggles of the cedi.

“They put pressure on the exchange rate because they demand it for finished products.”

Mr. Ayim-Darke was responding to a member of the Traders Advocacy Group, Irene Odoom, who had said Ghanaian industries contributed to the struggle of the cedi because they imported raw materials.

“Most of them don’t have the raw materials here in Ghana to do it,” Mrs. Odoom said on the show.

“The machines you use, some are obsolete and for the end product, the prices are high,” she added.

But Mr. Ayim-Darke retorted that the imports of industries still resulted in a net benefit to Ghana.

“By virtue of their [traders] deeds, bringing only finished products, if you look at the value chain of value addition, it is limited.”

“They don’t create enough jobs and the turnaround of their funds in the value chain is short. When you bring in raw materials, the value chain is longer,” he added.

Mr. Ayim-Darke noted further that this “affects the exchange rate in terms of the deficit the BoG [Bank of Ghana] needs to shore up the currency.”