Tema, Ghana – The Secretary General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), Abraham Koomson, has suggested the printing of new banknotes as a measure to address hoarded cash allegedly stashed away by individuals from the previous government.
According to Mr. Koomson, introducing new currency notes would compel those who have hidden large sums of money to bring them into the banking system.
Speaking on Ahotor FM’s ‘Yepe Ahunu’ show with host Nana Dogbe, he stated that if the government has the resources, printing new banknotes would be a beneficial initiative.
“We should raise the issue of printing new notes if there’s money because some people have hoarded the Cedi currency and don’t know how to bring them out,” he said.
Unmasking Hidden Wealth Through Currency Exchange
Mr. Koomson explained that by changing the currency, individuals with large sums of hoarded cash would be forced to exchange their old notes at banks, making it easier to track unexplained wealth.
“The government changing the current currency notes means whoever has hoarded it will have to go to the bank to exchange it. People will find it difficult to carry whatever they have hoarded to the bank to exchange,” he stated.
He further argued that setting a deadline for exchanging old notes for new ones would expose those targeted by Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL), a campaign aimed at retrieving allegedly stolen funds.
“And there should be a deadline to change the notes to the new notes, and that will compel those people that ORAL wants to be exposed,” he emphasized.
Holding Hoarders Accountable
Mr. Koomson also suggested that the process of exchanging old notes for new ones should include an accountability mechanism, questioning individuals about the source of their large cash holdings.
“People have packed the notes somewhere, and printing new currency notes will help to question the whereabouts of huge sums of money when someone wants to change it,” he said.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh (#RomeoWrites
) / Ahotoronline.com | Ghana 
