In a Starrfmonline report lawyer for the indigenous gold trading firm Kwame Akuffo said the Central bank has directed local banks not to do business with Menzgold.
“I know for a fact that the Central Bank is telling banks not to do business with us, that wouldn’t be proper for an economy which thrives on free market, can that be proper? The Central Banks wants to find a way to cripple us, which is untenable, “
He told Starr News Ibrahim Alhassan in an interview on Thursday.
Reacting to claims that the Central Bank may be coming after them because they are affecting deposits at the banks, Mr Akuffo said “Because I’m a lawyer I don’t like to speak to suspicions but there is reasonable grounds from other informed members of society that Menzgold is attracting lots of gold deposits and that they are taking away money from the banks”.
If this is true (and we have no reason to doubt Kwame Akuffo), the BOG will be effectively deliberately hindering the progress of a company that employs over 2000 people simply on the grounds that they are succeeding.
The Central Bank will also be undermining the free market system we have been aiming to perfect over time.
The question that needs to be asked is at what point does the Central Bank take steps to stifle the progress of private companies? What are the standards? Is it a policy and if it is, would it not be fair for the Central Bank to make this policy public so every business man out there will understand the environment within which they are operating?
The rules must work but they must be fair and transparent else they will be tyranny masquerading as oversight.
As Ian Bremmer writes in this HuffPost article “Free-market capitalism is a game with referees who exist only to ensure proper enforcement of recognized rules and with players engaged in genuine competition. Government’s only role is to ensure that the rules are written effectively and fairly.”
If truly the Bank of Ghana is telling local banks not to deal with Menzgold, this can’t be good even for the financial sector the regulator is seeking to protect or claims to be seeking to protect.
