Federation Of Traders Backs Bank Of Ghana Directives On Foreign Exchange Sector: "It's About Time"

• The Ghana Federation of Traders has backed the setting up of a centralised foreign exchange trading platform
• The Federation’s Deputy Communications Director told YEN.com.gh he was hopeful of a positive impact on forex business
• The Bank of Ghana directed all Foreign Exchange Bureaus to check for the Ghana Card before transactions, among others

The Ghana Federation of Traders supports the Bank of Ghana’s move to set up a centralised foreign exchange trading platform.

The Federation’s Deputy Communications Director, David Kojo Amoateng, told YEN.com.gh he was hopeful this would lead to a clean-up of the currency exchange business.

The organisation has been critical of the central bank’s monitoring of the forex sector.

“Of the things that we have been telling them, it seems they have started doing one or two things about them.”

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Amoateng is hopeful the Bank of Ghana can start to clean out black market operators from the forex sector.

“The law is on your side, and once you want to catch the people, you can do so,” he said.

However, he said he would prefer that black market operators be regularised and not collapsed so they can register their businesses and collect tax revenue.

“Me, I’m a businessman. I don’t want a situation where someone has started his or her business, and you go and collapse it… sometimes, we are in a hurry to drag some business down and collapse them.”

As part of the centralised foreign exchange trading platform, the Bank of Ghana has directed all Foreign Exchange Bureaus to check for the Ghana Card before transactions.

According to a statement from the central bank, this directive will take effect from August 1, 2024.

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Ghana's forex challenges

YEN.com.gh reported that this directive comes amid Ghana's forex struggles, which have intensified over the last two years due to the economic crisis.

The cedi has depreciated by over 15 percent against the dollar in 2024. It began the year trading at GH¢11.97 to a dollar on the interbank market and GH¢12.33 on the retail market but is currently nearing GH¢15.

This has prompted calls for action from the state by business groups like the Ghana Federation of Traders.

Businesses have complained that the depreciation has been killing their businesses.

Source: YEN.com.gh