Traders have kicked against the recent Bank of Ghana directive which places a limit on how much a third party can withdraw from the bank.
According to the traders, the move will not only defeat the call to encourage savings but also slow down what they describe as their brisk business activities on a daily basis.
The traders who mostly operate from Okaishie, a major business centre in the central business district of Accra and Abossey Okai, the hub for the sale of second-hand vehicle spare parts, said at a time when confidence in the cheque system had fast waned and the various credit cards, among others, were not working effectively in the country, reducing the amount of money that could be withdrawn from the counter was not only worrying but a disincentive.
Consequently, they called on the central bank to reconsider its position and ensure that the necessary underground work to ensure an effective and reliable cash payment system was put in place before it carried out such an activity.
The President of the Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA), Mr George Kwaku Ofori, who spoke to the Graphic Business in reaction to the BoG directive, said most of the traders belonging to the association transacted business with huge sums of money on a daily basis and would, therefore, require amounts far more than what the BoG had approved over the counter to enable them to operate effectively.
“Many of our members have huge sums of money in the bank but they operate a savings account. As a result, they can only withdraw for their clients or business partners when they are present at the bank,” he said.
