President John Dramani Mahama says Ghana’s currency is “long overdue for refreshing”, citing the need to periodically update its security features to make counterfeiting more difficult.
Speaking during the Resetting Ghana Tour in the Upper East Region, President Mahama said currencies needed to be refreshed periodically as counterfeiters become familiar with existing security features.
“Every country, every ten years, you are supposed to refresh your currency because if you use the same currency for too long, people learn how to counterfeit it,” he said.
“And so this particular currency is long overdue for refreshing,” he added.
President Mahama said he was aware of plans by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to refresh the currency and expected the central bank to announce details when appropriate.
“I know the governor has plans to refresh the currency and I am sure that at the appropriate time, the Bank of Ghana will let Ghanaians know what they are doing about it,” he said.
He stressed that a currency refresh would be different from a redenomination and would primarily involve updating the security features on banknotes.
President Mahama also attributed the cedi’s recent performance against major international currencies to what he described as improved economic management.
“What I would say is that the cedi today is stronger than it was in the past because of good economic management,” he said.
“Your currency is as strong as your economic management and because of the good policies we put in place, the cedi is holding its own against other major currencies,” he added.
He said government would continue implementing policies to support the strength of the cedi, while the Bank of Ghana determines the timing and scope of any currency refresh.