The Association of Forex Bureau Operators has commended the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison for his role in clamping down on illegal forex dealers also known as ‘Black Market’ in a move to sanitise the sector.
According to the Association, initial and ongoing measures to flush out illegal foreign exchange dealers have begun to yield some results in the markets.
The group cited the recent operation in some parts of Accra, which saw the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Police Service collaborate to arrest about 160 black market operators.
President of the Forex Bureau Association of Ghana, K. T. Dadzie, during a meeting last week said it will continue to support and compliment the central banks' efforts in containing illegal operators which have contributed to the decline of the cedi against major trading currencies.
Meanwhile, officials and management of the BoG on October 25 2022, met with stakeholders within the foreign exchange market, including the Managing Directors of banks in the country and the Association of Forex Bureau Operators.
The engagement was to deliberate on measures that seek to streamline, sanitise and provide clarity on the supply of forex in the country.
BoG Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison in his opening remarks said despite the global economic challenges, his outfit remains poised to work with relevant stakeholders toward addressing the shortfalls within the foreign exchange market.
“Available data indicate that we started the year GH¢6 to the dollar. It got to GH¢7 and we stayed at GH¢7 in June, GH¢7.6 in July, GH¢8 in August, GH¢9.6 in September and now it is GH¢12.5. But we are here again with people sending messages that the dollar-cedi rate is GH¢15 to a dollar," he noted.
“Clearly, this type of movement does not reflect changes in the fundamentals. It is clear that the market is not functioning properly. We are seeing speculations taking over under very disorderly market conditions and it appears now the black market is rather driving exchange rates. This we cannot allow to continue,” Dr Addison noted.
The BoG Governor also assured various stakeholders that measures were being deployed to restore order in the forex market.
He outlined this will be done by ensuring the interbank market took full control of the forex market to enforce regulations surrounding forex trading and streamline the supply of forex in the country.
The Governor however charged the association to be law compliant and cautioned them to desist from determining forex rates which had contributed to the speculation of rates, thus creating unnecessary panic in the market.
BoG Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison