I believe the time has come for the NDC government, as well as some individuals within its academic and political establishment, to apologise to me for the insults, personal attacks and public ridicule I endured for insisting on what I considered to be the correct economic explanation for the cedi’s remarkable appreciation between 10th April 2025 and 3rd June 2025.
Let us revisit the events.
When the cedi appreciated from approximately GH¢15.45 to the US dollar on 10th April 2025 to about GH¢10.22 on 3rd June 2025, I publicly argued that the Bank of Ghana’s intervention in the foreign exchange market was a significant factor underpinning that extraordinary performance. I questioned the government’s attempt to attribute the appreciation principally to fiscal consolidation
My position was straightforward: fiscal consolidation could contribute to exchange-rate stability by reducing macroeconomic imbalances and easing pressure on the foreign exchange market. However, attributing such a dramatic appreciation, within approximately seven weeks, principally to fiscal consolidation was economically unconvincing without adequately accounting for the role of monetary and foreign exchange market interventions, external sector developments and market expectations.
Rather than engage with the substance of my argument, some government communicators and supporters resorted to insults and personal attacks.
The situation became particularly embarrassing during my appearance on a TV3’s programme, The Key Point, where senior presidential staffers attacked my position and resorted to name-calling instead of providing a convincing economic rebuttal. Apparently, questioning the government’s economic narrative had then become an offence!
President Mahama subsequently travelled outside Ghana and publicly presented fiscal consolidation as the principal explanation for the cedi’s appreciation from approximately GH¢15.45 to GH¢10.22 within seven weeks. I found that explanation difficult to reconcile with the dynamics of the foreign exchange market.
The controversy intensified when the Governor of the Bank of Ghana also publicly sought to clarify the Bank’s position, indicating that the institution had not undertaken the excessive interventions being suggested in some quarters. This further fuelled attacks against those of us who had questioned the government’s explanation.
Then came the IMF.
The IMF cautioned the government against excessive foreign exchange interventions to support the cedi, raising important questions about the sustainability of the exchange-rate management approach. The World Bank also subsequently raised similar concerns and went on to advise the government to focus on supporting the cedi with sound policies to boost local production!
These developments reinforced the importance of the questions I had been raising.
Interestingly, when President Mahama subsequently met the press, he acknowledged the significant role played by Bank of Ghana interventions in the cedi’s performance. This was a notable departure from the earlier emphasis on fiscal consolidation as the principal explanation.
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana also subsequently acknowledged the importance of aggressive foreign exchange interventions in supporting the cedi!
So, let me ask a simple question: Where are all those who insulted George Domfe?
Where are those who dismissed my arguments? Where are those who sought to portray me as economically ignorant simply because I refused to endorse the government’s preferred explanation? Where are those who insisted that fiscal consolidation had performed an almost miraculous feat within seven weeks?
The issue is not whether fiscal consolidation is important. Of course, it is. The issue is whether it was intellectually honest to attribute the extraordinary appreciation of the cedi principally to fiscal consolidation while downplaying the contribution of Bank of Ghana interventions.
My concern is that President Mahama’s subsequent acknowledgement and the Governor’s eventual admission substantially reinforced the argument I had been making from the beginning.
Yet, neither the President nor the Governor found it necessary to acknowledge that some of us had defended this position, which when had attracted considerable hostility.
I also have a personal issue with a senior academic associated with the NDC at the University of Ghana. When I privately contacted him to explain why I considered the fiscal consolidation argument economically inadequate as an explanation for the magnitude and speed of the cedi’s appreciation, he chose to attack me personally.
He went as far as boasting about his Scopus-indexed publications and citation record, cautioning me never to compare myself with him.
Really?
Academic citations are not a substitute for sound economic reasoning. Neither do publication records confer a monopoly over economic knowledge or make one’s arguments immune to scrutiny. In academia, the strength of an argument must ultimately be determined by evidence, analytical rigour and its consistency with observable economic developments.
If anything, this episode demonstrates why intellectual humility is indispensable in public economic discourse.
My demands are therefore very simple:
The NDC government must acknowledge that its initial explanation of the cedi’s appreciation, which placed overwhelming emphasis on fiscal consolidation, was incomplete and subsequently required qualification.
President Mahama, BOG Boss and the relevant government communicators have now acknowledged the significant contribution of the Bank’s interventions to the cedi’s performance. GOLDBOD appears to be taking over from the Bank with foreign exchange intermediation after IMF advice to the Bank to to reduce the unsustainable aggressive interventions.
Those who insulted, ridiculed and personally attacked me for advancing this economic argument should have the intellectual honesty to apologise.
The senior University of Ghana academic who chose to weaponise his Scopus citations against me rather than engage with my economic arguments must also apologise.
I have spent years studying, researching and teaching fiscal and monetary policies. I do not claim to be infallible. I am not a repository of intelligence. Never!! However, I will never surrender my intellectual independence to political convenience.
I have no problem acknowledging government achievements when the evidence supports them. Equally, I will challenge questionable economic narratives regardless of the political party in power.
My loyalty is to evidence, economic reasoning and intellectual honesty, not to political propaganda.
The NDC government cannot celebrate the eventual acknowledgement of Bank of Ghana interventions while pretending that those of us who raised the issue when it was politically inconvenient did not exist.
I demand an apology now!
By George Domfe (PhD)
The writer is the President of the Africa Policy Lens