Black market boom result of rigid nature of transacting in dollars at banks – GUTA

The President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr. Joseph Obeng, has called on the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to relax the laws on transacting business in dollars at the banks.

According to him, doing business at the bank in dollars is as if one has subjected him or herself to a forensic audit.

"Doing business in forex is like calling for an audit so many people shy away from doing legitimate business with the banks in dollars," he said.

The GUTA President noted that the laws in dealing with forex at the banks are time-consuming and too cumbersome.

He said the rigid regime at the bank when transacting business in foreign exchange is the result of the booming black market for the exchange of dollars in the country.

Dr Obeng stressed that a lot of people including foreigners now go to the black market to deal in forex in blatant disregard of the laws on forex in the country.

"In other jurisdictions, if you have to change forex, an identity like a passport is needed but here the market is free for all," he lamented.

This, he explained has contributed to the fast depreciation of the cedis.

He noted that it has contributed to the swindling of the working capital of business people in the country.

"Now you need about one million Ghana Cedis to be able to do business worth one hundred thousand dollars because the dollar is being bought at GHS10", he bemoaned.

Dr Obeng speaking in an interview with Emmanuel Quarshie, host of the Ghana Yensom morning show on Accra 100.5 FM on Tuesday, August 16, 2022, said the rate at which the black market business is booming is part of the reason the cedi has fallen drastically to the dollar.

He suggested a review of the country’s investment laws adding that this has also contributed to capital flight which in the end has pushed the depreciation of the cedi