The president of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr. Joseph Obeng is calling on the government to restructure the investment laws in the country since that is a contributory factor to the continuous cedi depreciation in the country.
According to Dr. Obeng, “there ought to be some retention in the investment laws to restrain monies raised from leaving the shores of the country”.
“If you look at banking, extractive industries, communication – these areas command the bulk of money that comes to the nation, and all of these monies go out of Ghana while we do not have retention by way of investment law making it possible to retain about 40 percent,” he added.
The latest concern comes on the heels of the steep fall of the Ghanaian currency the cedi on October 8, 2022, with an exchange rate ¢11 to $1 in some forex bureaux in the country.
An interview conducted by Joy Business and monitored by Ghana Report saw operators of Forex Bureaux blaming the further depreciation of the cedi on the shortage of dollars in the system.
Meanwhile, the last Forex Forward by the Bank of Ghana indicates “that demand exceeded supply by $75.25 million in the latest auction”.
In September, the figure was 82.75 million. Clearly, the recent injection of some 750 million dollars in the economy has failed to turn things around.
The dollar shortage and the cedi depreciation is affecting businesses in the country, especially those who import goods from other countries.
Dr. Obeng also advised the government to check companies operating in the country without forex.
“Investment laws should be structured such that companies like the China Malls and all that, that do not bring in any forex, but then they only open their supermarkets and repatriate all the foreign exchange, are checked. ”