One of the biggest failures in our education system is that we stopped teaching history. People keep saying we can only know where we are going if we know where we are coming from. Today, most of Ghana’s youth do not know what happened in 1990, let alone in the 1960s and 1970s.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane to 1969, when Prof. Kofi Busia became Prime Minister of Ghana. He had policies that overvalued the local currency and embarked on large expansion programmes without the resources to back them. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

These policies caused a balance of payments crisis. Other failed policies eventually led Ghana to its first IMF agreement on 27 December 1971. As part of the IMF agreement, there was currency devaluation, which was very unpopular. The result was rioting and widespread discontent, which led to Busia being overthrown by Lt. Col. I.K. Acheampong.

The world has changed. Today’s government has a large supply of foreign exchange reserves—thanks to the innovative Domestic Gold Purchase Programme introduced by Dr. Bawumia. That means we may not have the same foreign exchange shortages experienced in 1971. However, the fundamental economic problems persist.

Today, we are told that the government’s policy is to keep the cedi to the dollar between 10 cedis and 12 cedis. Some people call that stability. The Bank of Ghana sets the exchange rate not based on any clear mechanism, but simply to support a political narrative.

As students of history, we await the outcome of these policies.

Thank you.

KNP.