A member of the Association of Forex Bureaux Operators, Tommy Dari Iddisah has urged the Central Bank to review its recent directives on foreign currency accounts as well as importation of foreign currency among others. Mr Iddisah was speaking on MultiTV’s Current Affairs Program, PM Express, in the wake of an apparent shortage of the dollar for business transactions. The shortage is reported to have been caused by the Central Bank’s bid to address the dollarization of the economy which has led to the fall of the local currency. The General Manager of HFC Bank, Joseph Nketsiah, who was also on the show noted the measures put in place by Bank of Ghana to address the issue, although temporary could have a devastating effect in the long term. The Bank of Ghana recently blamed the commercial banks for their role in encouraging dollarization of the economy citing specifically, what is termed "externalization" without proper documentation. Externalization is the process where banks credit foreign exchange accounts with proceeds from private sector exports for investments and transactions abroad. Acting Governor of Bank of Ghana, Dr. Kofi Wampah recently said, “These unauthorized externalizations of banks, infringe on regulations under the Foreign Exchange Act and also undermine the Central Bank’s efforts to ensuring judicious use of foreign exchange resources. They constrain supplies of foreign exchange in the market, thereby putting pressure on the domestic currency” But Mr. Nketsiah believes that as long as imports outweigh exports, the situation cannot be reversed. He explains though currency depreciation is an incentive for exporters, the country imports more than exports thus the benefits are not achieved. On the other hand, Mr. Iddisah holds strongly, that over politicization of matters of the economy coupled with lack of proper prioritization has resulted in loss of confidence in the local currency. He added that this could lead to a booming black market activity. Banks and Forex Bureaux have however constantly denied resorting to the Para-market for dollars during shortage. Mr. Nketsiah suggested that the country must go back to rebuilding its import substitution companies to cut down on the volumes of imports. He also asked that policies must be put in place to encourage export volumes and discourage them from hoarding their export proceeds. Meanwhile, the representative of the Forex Bureaux Association, Tommy Iddisah asked for a national agenda to guide stakeholders in prioritizing especially importation to bring the cedi back on track going forward.