Bank Of Ghana and the Money Bouquet – my take

Now it looks like everyone is obsessed with social media trends. And I am not talking about the people who do money bouquet and hampers as birthday and wedding gifts, and post pictures on social media. I am talking about Bank Of Ghana. It seems even such a serious institution has a thing for the social media trends.

On Thursday March 30, 2023, the Director of the Currency Department at the central bank, Dominic Owusu addressed a press conference and warned those who use the Cedi banknotes to make bouquets and hampers as gifts to quit the practice because it is illegal. He said the Cedi notes were made solely for trade and any other use is unlawful and subject to prosecution.

I personally saw him on TV say those exact words in Twi. I doubt if indeed EVERY OTHER USE of the Cedi is unlawful apart from for trade. But let’s just accept what Mr. Owusu said for now and assume that even when I pack Cedi notes nicely in a box or envelope as a gift to anyone, even that is illegal so long as there is no trade involved.

I have come to the sad conclusion that the BoG took on this particular subject not because it is genuinely committed to fighting practices that deface the Cedi notes, but because the central bank wants a bite of the social media trends.

Let me explain.

As a media stakeholder, I have personally had occasion to report a regular unlawful practice at the Births and Death Registry, which defaces the Cedi notes badly, to the Bank of Ghana. The staff of Births and Deaths Registry clip Cedi notes to documents with staple pins on daily basis. It is the norm in that registry. I even took pictures and sent them out to a BoG official, and suggested that they should do their own mystery shopping and confirm it for themselves. It has been about four years since I made that report, BoG has not bothered to even visit the place and do anything about it. Between stapling Cedi notes to paper and rolling the notes or even arranging them in their original state in a bouquet, which one defaces the Cedi notes more?

Because the practice at Births and Deaths Registry is not trending on social media, BoG has not bothered to take them on and save the Cedi. As I said, I reported this matter to BoG about fours years ago. As recent as last month (March 2023) when I went to Births and Deaths to do a certificate for my late dad, they stapled the money I paid to the documents. When I complained about it the officer there did not even bother to respond to me, because the regulator of the Cedi notes does not care.

I will support any of the BoG’s initiatives to stop the practices that deface our Cedi notes any day. But BoG needs to fight an honest fight and not seek to attach itself only to what is trending on social media.

Go to the markets and see how traders treat the Cedi notes; so bad! In fact, the money bouquet thing is absolutely nothing compared to what is happening in markets, trotros, churches, and several other places where money is actually being used for trade. Is the BoG suggesting to us that once people are using the money for trade, it is okay for them to manhandle, squeeze and deface it, but putting the money in hampers and bouquets as gifts is a taboo?!

BoG can do better than chasing social media trends. In any case, if you stop people from making money bouquet with Cedi notes, they will simply switch to other currency notes – dollars, euros, pounds, naira, CFA. Is BoG going to stop those as well?

BoG needs to do more than hold press conferences in their suits and ties and in air conditioned halls and talk about money hampers and bouquets. They need to get out there and clamp down on the several traders, transport operators, truck pushers, head potters and others who are blatantly defacing the Cedi notes on daily basis. They need to up their public education game. Making it look like money bouquet is an offense but squeezing the notes, packing it disorderly in pouches, bras, and all kinds of places is not much of an issue, will not solve the money defacing problem. The real problem is out there, not on social media. And the real problem cannot be solved with press conferences but action.

Sale of Cedi notes, coins 

Speaking of the Cedi notes, there is another common practice at lorry stations and bus stops, where some money changers sell smaller cedi notes and coins for as high as 10% profit. For instance, if you need ghs10 in ghs1 notes or coins, you pay ghs10 but they will give you ghs9 in smaller notes/coin and make ghs1 profit on your ghs10. This is not done in secret. It is done openly – Madina, Spinner Junction under the Accra Mall bridge, Tema Station and several other places.

Again, I have reported this to a BoG official as a media stakeholder, but absolutely nothing has been done. This cannot be solved with press conferences. It takes work. BoG needs to find a way to stop the banks from giving loads of fresh smaller notes and coins to these money changers who sell to the public for profit. Very often you go to the banks to change money into smaller notes and they don’t have, but these illegal roadside money changers always have loads of fresh smaller notes to change.

This illegality must stop. Again, it takes thinking outside of the box and taking decisive and strategic actions – not press conferences in air conditioned rooms.

Banks are the custodians of our currency. The law does not allow them to change smaller currencies for profit. If any roadside money changer has evidence of any bank selling smaller notes and coins to them, we want to see the evidence and we will take on those banks. This money sale by the road side has gone on for years and BoG has done absolutely nothing about it, not because they don’t know but because it is not trending on social media so they don’t care.

BoG, you can do better than follow what is trending. Social media trends for an organization like yours is not equal to achievement. Quit chasing the trends and focus on the real problems and deal with them.