Second Deputy Governor of the central bank, Elsie Addo Awadzi, has underscored the importance of collaboration among stakeholders in the financial sector toward the growth of the forex bureau sector.
According to her, the sector requires deliberate market practices which will ensure it is well sanitized to especially address fears and speculation which often fuel the cedi’s depreciation against major trading currencies.
Speaking at a sensitization workshop organised for members of the Committee for Co-operation between the Law Enforcement Agencies and Banking Community (COCLAB), the second deputy governor called for concerted efforts to improve the foreign exchange operations in the country.
“I strongly appeal to your good selves to support Bank of Ghana’s efforts to sanitize the forex bureau sector, by strictly enforcing existing rules for the fair and transparent conduct of business by licensed forex bureaus, and by clamping down on illegal forex operations (the so-called black market)," Addo Awadzi said.
“While the Bank of Ghana regulates the sector, it relies on criminal investigative and law enforcement agencies (all of which are members of COCLAB) to help with enforcement efforts. We count on your cooperation especially now more than ever to help restore order and fair pricing to promote the Ghana cedi’s stability,” she added.
The call by the Second Deputy Governor of the BoG comes at a crucial time where stakeholders have apportioned blame of the cedi's struggles against major currencies on certain illegal practices by forex bureau operators.
Meanwhile, the sensitization workshop forms part of joint efforts by the Law Enforcement Agencies and the Bank of Ghana to clamp down of financial crimes in the banking sector.
The formation of COCLAB in Ghana was spearheaded by Bank of Ghana, building on INTERPOL’s 1988 Resolution, to help clamp down on the menace of economic and financial crimes across the world.
Recently, the Bank of Ghana rejuvenated the Committee to serve as a platform for deepened collaboration in the fight against financial crime.
The collaboration, is among key players in the banking sector, law enforcement agencies, the Judiciary, national security and other relevant institutions.
Elsie Addo Awadzi, Second Deputy Governor, Bank of Ghana