File photo of US dollar notes
A Facebook post by the Bank of Ghana on Thursday morning announcing the day’s foreign exchange rate has drawn ridicule from several Ghanaian social media users.
The post, published on the official Bank of Ghana (BoG) Facebook page around 10:00 AM, stated the day’s buying rate at GH¢10.42 and the selling rate at GH¢10.43 per US dollar.
In response, some social media users highlighted the significant disparity between the Bank’s published rates and prevailing rates in the forex market.
A large section of respondents expressed concern that while the BoG continues to announce relatively low exchange rates, these do not reflect the reality on the ground, where the dollar is reportedly being sold for over GH¢13.
“Bank of Ghana has the rate, but Zamarama has the dollars,” one user remarked.
“You control the rate online; abochi controls it offline in the black market,” another added.
One user also asked, “Why don’t banks have dollars to sell to importers?”
Meanwhile, a group of importers expressed frustration over their inability to access dollars from commercial banks, saying the situation is negatively affecting their businesses.
According to the importers, banks are refusing to sell dollars due to the wide gap between the Bank of Ghana‘s rates and those of the forex market.
This, they claim, is forcing them to resort to the black market, where rates are significantly higher.
AME
