In 2003, the Association of Forex Bureau Operators in the Ashanti Region averred that the frequent increase in the exchange rate was as a result of black marketeers trading on the market.

The Deputy Secretary of the Association, Isaac Raphael Bio, in an interview, said the dealings of these black marketeers do not only takeover the business of licensed forex bureau operators but would also have a dent on the economy.

He continued that the forex bureau operators contribute to the socio-economic development of the country by paying tax. However, he noted that the black marketeers do not pay tax to the state yet, keep operating when they should be clamped down to allow legal operators work.

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The Ashanti Region branch of the Association of Forex Bureau Operators has attributed the current high exchange rate to the brazen activities of black marketeers.

The Association said for instance that, black marketeers now operate openly on tables in the Kumasi central market without any hindrance or check while others also operate at Ala Bar.

This situation, the Association said, was not only throwing licensed forex bureau operators out of business and doing serious damage to the economy.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi on Saturday after a meeting to deliberate on the current situation, Mr Isaac Raphael Bio, assistant secretary of the association, therefore called on the government to take immediate steps to check the activities of these black marketeers before they did irreparable damage to the economy.

Mr Bio said the forex bureaux were contributing to the socio-economic development of the country through the taxes they paid, whereas these black marketeers enjoyed their profits without paying anything to the state.

"We are subjected to regular scrutiny by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), pay renewal fees and taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), while these people who reap huge profits pay nothing to anybody and the law enforcement agencies look unconcerned.

Mr Bio added, "Are we now being told that certain categories of people doing genuine business should pay taxes while another category take the law into their own hands and reap huge profits without paying anything to the state".

He wondered why the security agencies who used to arrest these people had stopped their regular swoops on them but had allowed them to have a field day.

He therefore called on the security agencies to clamp down on these black marketeers.

Mr Bio said the activities of these people who were operating on tables and on street corners were not only encouraging the spread of fake currencies but also put many unsuspecting customers in danger.