Economist, Professor Godfred Bokpin, says former sanitation minister, Cecilia Dapaah’s case of hoarding large sums of money in foreign bills is not an isolated case.

According to him, the behaviour is typical of politicians and other wealthy business people who have a general distrust of the formal financial system and seek a less cumbersome way to move large sums of cash around.

Speaking on PM Express, he explained that the distrust for the financial system is mainly borne out of fear of sudden government policies that may have devastating effects on their wealth.

“We all know that what has happened in the case of this minister is not an isolated case. This is what represents also the fear the average Ghanaian who has crossed the poverty line even if they didn’t see the line. If you look at the way our financial system is designed, you have the government overseeing everything.

“Assuming you’re a politician, you have a political ambition, and all your wealth is kept in the banking sector, you’re at risk of what the government could do. Even the government itself, the minister and the rest of them, they themselves feel uncomfortable storing their wealth in the financial system, even they that they’re overseeing the financial system.

“You’re likely to see this also happening across top business people in the private sector that equally keep cash outside of the financial system, also because of the frustration of moving money here and there and the rest of them,” he said.

Professor Bokpin further added that restrictive financial sector rules and regulations also contribute significantly to hoarding.

He said the current financial sector regulations generate a level of discomfort for the wealthy, thus their refusal to put all of their wealth in the formal financial institutions.

This, he added, is partly responsible for the growing black market not just in Ghana, but across the continent.

“Apart from that you’ll also see that the kind of laws we have put in place and the rest of them also make it a bit uncomfortable for the wealthy to put everything in the financial system. It’s not only Ghana, it’s across Africa largely.

“It’s also the reason why you see that the black market tends to be stronger than the formal financial system because the black market is an interface between that underground economy and the formal financial system.

“And you’re likely to find that some of the most liquid black markets probably happen right in front of a police station or an area that really you would not expect such a thing to happen because that is an interface,” he said.

Meanwhile, the preference of foreign cash, he explained, is as a result of the volatility of the local currency.

“The kind of system that we have created, if you want to keep large money outside the banking system then you’re mindful about the store of value. So most likely that the currency that is most stable is where you’ll store the money. It’s part of why the cedi depreciates,” he explained.

Two house helps, 18-year-old Patience Botwe and 30-year-old Sarah Agyei, along with three others are facing charges following their alleged involvement in the theft of $1 million, €300,000, and millions of Ghana cedis being the monies and personal effects of Cecilia Dapaah and her husband, between the months of July and October 2022.

She however, is disputing the amounts quoted on prosecution charge sheets to have been stolen in all, saying they are inconsistent with what she reported to the police.

Meanwhile, the minister has resigned and has since been arrested by the special prosecutor for corruption and corruption-related offences.