By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB), Mr. John Awuah, has rebutted claims by a Bank of Ghana (BoG) Board Member, Dr. Isaac Adongo, that the central bank has issued a directive to local banks to suspend over-the-counter foreign currency withdrawals.
According to Mr. Awuah, banks have not received any official communication from the BoG instructing them to halt such transactions.
His response follows recent comments made by Dr. Adongo during an appearance on JoyNews’ PM Express, where he claimed the BoG had directed banks to suspend over-the-counter foreign currency withdrawals.
“I can say on authority that, as a community of banks, we have not received any directive that bars over-the-counter withdrawals of USD or any foreign currency,” Mr. Awuah stated.
Speaking on JoyNews Prime, he emphasized that banks only act on formal instructions from the central bank and not on remarks made by individual board members.
“And another point I want to make clear — with all due respect to the board member who spoke, Dr. Isaac Adongo — is that as banks, we do not take instructions from individual board directors of the Bank of Ghana. Never.
We take instructions from the Bank of Ghana through the Governor, and those instructions are communicated via official channels,” he reiterated.
Mr. Awuah explained that while customers must provide valid reasons to access foreign currency, there is no blanket ban on such withdrawals.
“You cannot just show up and withdraw foreign currency without any justification. But there is no blanket prohibition,” he said.
