Banks have been directed by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) that from today, Thursday, November 17, they should no longer provide foreign exchange to persons for the import of rice, poultry, vegetable oil, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water, ceramic tiles, and other non-critical goods.
Sources within the BoG confirmed this to 3news.com on Thursday, November 17.
This falls in line with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s directive issued in his recent address to the nation on measures to tackle the economic challenges.
President Akufo-Addo in his address on Sunday, October 30, said the government was reviewing the standards required for imports into the country, prioritize the imports, as well as review the management of the foreign exchange reserves, in relation to imports of products such as rice, poultry, vegetable oil, toothpicks, pasta, fruit juice, bottled water and ceramic tiles, and others which, with intensified government support and that of the banking sector, can be manufactured and produced in sufficient quantities in Ghana.
“The government will, in May 2023, that is six (6) months from now, review the situation. We must, as a matter of urgent national security, reduce our dependence on imported goods, and enhance our self-reliance, as demanded by our overarching goal of creating a Ghana Beyond Aid.
“Much as we believe in free trade, we must work to ensure that the majority of goods in our shops and marketplaces are those we produce and grow here in Ghana.
“That is why we have to support our farmers and domestic industries, including those created under the 1-District-1-Factory initiative, to help reduce our dependence on imports, and allow us the opportunity to export more and more of our products and guarantee a stable currency that will present a high level of predictability for citizens and the business community.
Exports, not imports, must be our mantra! Accra, after all, hosts the headquarters of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area,” he said.