President John Dramani Mahama has attributed the recent appreciation of the Ghanaian cedi to effective leadership and governance, countering claims by former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia that the current administration lacks concrete policies influencing the currency's performance.

During a meeting with the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference on Friday, May 23, President Mahama stated that the strides made in stabilising the economy and reducing hardship are the results of deliberate leadership choices rather than isolated policy implementations.

“Somebody says, point to one policy that you have implemented to make the cedi appreciate, and I said it’s not about one policy. The answer is effective leadership,” President Mahama stated.

• Read also: ‘NDC has no policy behind cedi gains’ – Bawumia dismisses credit for currency stability

“With effective leadership, we can turn this economy around and create a better life for our people, and that is what I'm committed to.”

The former Vice President has dismissed suggestions that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) deserves any credit for the recent gains of the cedi, insisting that the NDC government has not implemented a policy that could have contributed to the currency’s performance.

He explained that the NDC had only recently passed its budget and had not undertaken any real expenditure or projects that could influence the currency’s appreciation.

In response to Bawumia's assertion that the NDC government has not implemented any policies to warrant the cedi's appreciation, President Mahama highlighted the importance of leadership in restoring public confidence and driving economic recovery.

• Read also: We’re focused on results, not slogans – Deputy Finance Minister fires back at Bawumia’s Cedi comments

“Ghanaians had bought into the message, and they believed that I would be able to reset things in order to build the confidence of our people in our democracy again,” he noted.

“Every step I've taken is meant to restore the faith of our people in our democracy and let them know that we can lead this country in a way different from what has been done in the past.”

The President expressed his commitment to setting a governance standard that future administrations would find challenging to reverse.

“By the time we finish these four years, we will set such a standard in government that whichever party or whichever people come into governance cannot reverse the gains that we have made in restoring our people's confidence in our democracy,” President Mahama added.