The Bank of Ghana (BOG) has provided clarification on a subject matter that has generated public debate across various media forms in the country. The debate which is a spillover from a television interview granted by chairman of the parliamentary select-committee on finance and a member of the BOG, Isaac Adongo. In the interview which aired on Wednesday night, Mr. Adongo (MP, Bolgatanga Central) was emphatic that over-the-counter withdrawals of US dollar denominated notes by foreign currency account holders was illegal. According to him, an individual can only get dollars over-the-counter “if indeed you are going to use it for a dollar-denominated transaction” because the Ghanaian cedi is the only legal tender used for local transactions.

The BOG clarified the comment by stating that over-the-counter cash withdrawals in foreign currency are allowed. It is allowed for foreign exchange accounts (FEA) and foreign currency accounts (FCA). However, for non-FEA and non-FCA account holders, there is a cap of US$10,000 for how much forex can be purchased to travel outside Ghana. In accordance with BOG regulations, such forex purchases must be supported by a valid passport, visa, and confirmed ticket.

The central bank added that it does not have any plan of reviewing the current measures on foreign exchange withdrawals. Mr. Adongo’s comment drove panic within the banking sector leaving a number of foreign currency account holders in wonder about what would happen to their savings. The Ghanaian cedi for a couple of weeks now has seen gains to its value against major trading currencies most notably the US dollar with the exchange rate posted by the Bank of Ghana at GH¢12.45 to $1 as of Thursday, May 15.