Dr. Ernest Addison
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has advised exporters to abide by the rule of repatriating a fraction of their export proceeds to help maintain the stability of the country’s foreign exchange regime or face sanctions.
Speaking at the Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA) sensitization workshop for exporters in Accra, Chief Manager in charge of Foreign Global Transfer and Remittance, BoG, Eric Hammond, said the bank is in collaboration with the security agencies to ensure exporters comply with the rules and regulations.
Mr. Hammond who gave a presentation on the Bank of Ghana Letter of Commitment (LOC) Requirement for the repatriation of export proceeds, observed that the Central Bank is open to engaging with exporters on the compliance of the regulations.
“The objective is not to stifle your operations but to save it. We need you as you need us and that’s exactly what we are doing here,” he said.
He also admonished the exporters to obey the 60-day grace period as well as embrace the Bank’s Letter of Commitment Documents to facilitate their export businesses.
“After the 60 days and you are not complying, the system will block you and that means you would have to come to the Bank of Ghana which adds up to your cost,” he added.
He also noted that, “We are not blocking you but the system does that. It doesn’t prevent you guys from doing further exportation. We don’t have the power to prosecute you but we are engaging the security services on that”.
He highlighted that exporters found to be going contrary to the rules and regulations could face a fine of 5,000 penalty units equivalent to GH¢60,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or both.
He again emphasised the importance of repatriating export proceeds stating that it contributes to building reserves and strengthening the local currency, ultimately boosting trading activities and facilitating Ghana’s transformation agenda.
Head of Shipper Services and Trade Facilitation Department, GSA, Monica Josiah, said the workshop was necessitated by complaints of the lack of awareness on the LOC requirements on the part of exporters and the unprofessional conduct of some customs house agents who use their clients’ LOC details to process shipments of other exporters on their blind side.
She said since the incidence of the sanction for LOC non-conformity is at the point of shipment, addressing LOC challenges falls directly within the purview of the Authority’s mandate of protecting and promoting the interest of exporters and importers in matters relating to cargo shipment by all modes of transport hence the workshop.
Participants at the forum were also taken through the Ghana Link Network Services.
Jamila Akweley Okertchiri