Ghanaians urged to be vigilant about fake currencies

Kumasi, June 21, GNA - Mrs Felicia Asare Kyei, Assistant Manager of the Kumasi branch of the Bank of Ghana (BOG), has urged Ghanaians to be vigilant and know all the security features on the new currency notes to be able to detect the fake ones and stop its circulation.

She said though the BOG had put in place new strategies to ensure tight security at the country's borders to prevent cross border inflows of fake currencies, individuals also had a part to play. Mrs Kyei was speaking at a public education forum at Sakafia Islamic School Complex at Sawaba in Kumasi on Wednesday to educate students and pupils on the re-denomination exercise so that they could in turn educate their parents and others.

She said money-counting machines at the banks could also detect fake currencies, which would minimize the problem if not eliminate it and therefore there was no cause for alarm.

She said unlike the old currencies, which had a lot of zeros making it difficult for computers to handle, the computers would handle the new currencies easily and the value would not change. Mrs Kyei said the new notes should be handled with care since the bank would have to replace defaced currencies at a great cost. Sheikh Ismail Saeed Adam, Director of the school, commended the bank for its efforts and asked for more of such programmes at the Zongo communities whenever there were new policies.

He asked the children not to panic but rather get to know the conversion to be able to control the situation.