According to the Head of Financial Stability at the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Joseph France, it is unacceptable for businesses to price their goods in dollars without the permission of the central bank.
He said the act, which is criminal, breaches the Foreign Exchange Act.
Dr Joseph France, however, stated that some companies have been permitted by the central bank to deal in forex because these companies are net forex earners.
Among other businesses permitted to charge their goods and services in dollars are; oil and gas companies, mining companies and some hotels.
Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, he said, "when you go to the oil and gas companies, I mean, net foreign exchange earners, they’re not licensed to deal but they’re permitted to deal in forex because they’re net forex earners, like the mining companies, the oil and gas companies. Some limited institutions like some limited hotels and so on are permitted to deal in forex. It’s not everybody who is supposed to deal in forex for which you advertise. So when these things come to our attention, we go after such persons to make sure that they stop."
“So we tell the public that anybody who is pricing in dollars please report because it’s actually a crime to be pricing in dollars. The foreign exchange act makes it that. So you report to us and we’ll also report to the security agencies. Or report to the security agencies and the person will be stopped,” he stated.
He stressed that for there to be sanity in the financial space the public must report businesses charging in dollars to either the Bank of Ghana or security agencies for the actions of these culprits to be brought to an abrupt halt.
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