Reduced illegal forex trading is result of good economy – Governor

The Governor of the central bank, Dr. Ernest Addison, has said that the recent reduction in rates of illegal forex trading – widely known as the ‘Black Market’ – comes as a result of the good economic atmosphere.

According to him, there is no shortage of foreign exchange in the system – a situation that makes it difficult for illegal activity to prevail. “I think the pressure in terms of the prevalence of black market activity has gone down, the reason being that the economy is doing relatively well. There’s not a big shortage of foreign exchange, and therefore that incentive for the black market to flourish is not there.”

The Governor made the remarks when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee in Parliament on Wednesday and was asked by a member of the committee what the central bank is doing to wipe out the years-long ‘black market’ menace faced within the country.

Dr. Addison however stressed in his submission that the Bank of Ghana will continue to collaborate with the security agencies to deal with the problem of illegal forex trading in the country.

“The black market is an illegal activity, and the BoG has collaborated with the security agencies to ensure that it does not thrive. We have had a few exercises in some parts of the country, literally going out there to arrest black market traders in foreign exchange.

“This is an illegal market, and you are not going to completely wipe it off; but from time to time, we have collaborated with the security agencies to enforce the law,” the Governor stated.