BoG Forex Rules Aiming to Ease Dollar Demand, Shift Exchange Burden to Residents – Dr Theo Acheampong
Petroleum Economist and Political Risk Analyst, Dr Theo Acheampong, has underscored that recent directives by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) are designed to reduce medium- to long-term dollar demand pressures while aligning invoicing practices with international norms.
Speaking during the NorvanReports X Space discussion organised in collaboration with the Economic Governance Platform (EGP) and the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) on Sunday, themed “The NPL Crackdown & Ghana’s New Currency Controls: Will BoG’s Tough Rules Fix the Economy or Freeze Growth,” Dr Acheampong explained that the central bank’s statement of August 27 seeks to regulate foreign exchange invoicing and transfer processes.
“Collectively, what the measures by BoG are actually doing in the medium to long term is to push or drive down the dollar demand,” he said.
He noted that under the new guidelines, foreign currency invoices may only be issued to expatriates—defined as foreign nationals or non-residents—and proceeds from such transactions must be paid into a foreign exchange account with a licensed bank. Transfers for legitimate external payments, however, remain permissible through the banking system.
Using his own experience to illustrate the point, Dr Acheampong recounted how a contract he undertook in Ghana, though denominated in British pounds, was settled in cedis.
“My expectation was that I was going to be paid British pounds. But what the people I signed the contract with said was that they would pay me in the cedi equivalent. So let’s say it was £10,000, they converted and paid into my cedi account,” he explained.
According to him, this system effectively shifts the foreign exchange burden to residents, who must authorise their banks to convert cedis back into foreign currency for transfers abroad, often incurring exchange losses at multiple points.
“You may argue that it is not fair because you lose twice—first when the company converts the pounds to cedis and again when converting back to pounds. But that is shifting the burden to me, which is what should be expected. If I don’t need pounds in the UK, the money stays in cedis,” he said.
Dr Acheampong stressed that the directive is consistent with global practice, where only non-residents are allowed to settle foreign currency invoices through forex accounts, while domestic transactions are conducted in local currency.
“Nowhere do you have a local person pricing or putting an invoice in dollars and having that settled locally in dollars,” he added.
