The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has issued a public appeal for the proper handling of the country's currency to enhance integrity, confidence, and trust, thus bolstering its functionality. This initiative, according to the BoG, is aimed at reducing the cost of issuing new currency into circulation and improving counterfeit detection measures.
Mr. Dominic Owusu, Head of the Currency Management Department at the BoG, emphasized the importance of responsible currency management during a tour of the Currency Department as part of the Ghana Heritage Month celebrations. Participants were briefed on the BoG's currency management operations and its Clean Note Policy (CNP) during the tour, which included visits to the processing and shredding unit.
Mr Owusu stressed the significance of using purses and wallets to keep currency neat and prevent mutilation, highlighting that crumpling and squeezing banknotes affects their durability and resistance to humidity. He urged citizens to collectively preserve the country's currency, thereby saving costs associated with destruction and replacement.
Highlighting the symbolic importance of currency as a reflection of national heritage and identity, Mr. Owusu urged the public to return torn and unfit banknotes to banks for removal from circulation. He cautioned against the rejection of one and five pesewas coins, asserting that all currencies issued by the BoG remain legal tender and must be accepted.
Furthermore, Mr. Owusu reminded the public that the use of currency for purposes other than economic transactions, such as decoration or spraying at events, is illegal. He clarified that Ghana currently lacks the capacity to print money locally and emphasized that the quantity of money printed annually is determined by international standards and factors such as economic growth and population increase.
To maintain predetermined and acceptable standards of banknote circulation, remove unfit notes, and combat counterfeiting, Mr. Owusu outlined the BoG's implementation of the CNP since 2010. This policy aims to instill confidence, integrity, and trust in the Ghanaian currency by withdrawing and replacing unfit currency while combating counterfeit notes.
Regarding counterfeit currency, Mr. Owusu noted a decreasing trend since 2010, with Ghana recording a significantly low rate of 7/1,000,000 counterfeit notes, well below the threshold of 100/1,000,000 considered serious.