By: Benjamin Nii Nai Anyetei
The President of the Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA), Mr. Joseph Obeng, has raised concerns over persistent foreign exchange shortages in commercial banks, despite relative availability at forex bureaus.
Speaking in an interview on the ‘GTV Breakfast Show’ on August 19, 2025, Mr. Obeng disclosed that GUTA had engaged the Bank of Ghana’s Governor on the matter, stressing the need for transparency in forex allocation
“We trust the Governor, but the question is: when forex goes to the mainstream banks, is it being swallowed by the bigger entities to the detriment of the smaller ones? Why is it that the forex bureaus are having it and the banks are not?” Mr. Obeng asked.
Mr. Obeng noted that small and medium traders were being forced into the black market, where rates are higher, due to the lack of forex in commercial banks.
His concerns echo recent reports by the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, which in July 2025 urged the Bank of Ghana to urgently address the forex access crisis. The Association warned that black-market operators, popularly known as “Abokis,” were dominating the market and dictating inflated exchange rates, eroding confidence in the formal banking system .
However, data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that the Bank of Ghana has been heavily intervening in the forex market to stabilize the cedi. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, the central bank sold US$1.4 billion into the market, following more than US$3 billion in 2024. (The Ghana Report, April 2025).
Mr. Obeng warned that without proper monitoring, forex allocation risks being skewed toward larger entities at the expense of small traders who form the backbone of Ghana’s commerce.
