The President of the Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA), has blamed the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for creating room for the black market to operate.

This, Mr Joseph Obeng, said is due to the Bank’s “stringent documentary requirements.”

“It does not allow people to do business with the mainstream businesses.”

His assertion is in reaction to an indication by the BoG that it will soon close down licensed forex bureaus that are not complying with the foreign exchange law.

Officials of the Central Bank disclosed this to Joy Business after embarking on some field exercises to check the state of compliance with some forex bureaus in the metropolis.

Also, there is the belief that actions by some operators have been contributing to speculation in the foreign exchange market, hence affecting the stability of the cedi.

In an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Monday, Mr. Obeng insisted that Bank of Ghana “knows the problem. It means that the solution is what they are not bringing.”

“It is very unfortunate that if you know that this is the problem then you ask yourself why are people doing this? Most people have gone because the Bank of Ghana have created room for the black markets to operate,” Mr Obeng said.

Meanwhile, the Head of Financial Stability at the Central Bank, Dr. Joseph France, said his outfit won’t hesitate to clamp down on activities of forex bureaus found culpable and operating illegally.

He added that the Central Bank has begun an investigation into various complaints received regarding some forex bureaus that are not abiding by the laws governing foreign exchange.

He also mentioned that some forex bureaus are erroneously setting forward rates and failing to issue receipts.

“We have started investigations into some complaints. We have heard that some don’t issue receipts and some are also determining forward rates which is bad. We will ensure that they all do good business.”

“When we are done with the investigations and it warrants to close their bureaus, we will do that to serve as a deterrent to others”, he said.

The Bank of Ghana said this is one of the measures to control the sharp depreciation of the cedi.

It, therefore, entreated all licensed forex bureaus in the country to operate under the foreign exchange laws. BoG expressed confidence to bring some sanity to the forex market across the country.