Beyond the numbers on Joy News With Isaac Kofi Agyei and Winston Taki
almost 12 billion dollars In remittances to Ghana, they were not tracked or accounted for by the Bank of Ghana and the Auditor General from 2018 to 2022.
In the area of remittances, data available from the World Bank and the Bank of Ghana contradict each other. While the World Bank tracks a total $21.1 billion With the inflow of remittances to Ghana from 2018 to 2022, Reports The Bank of Ghana’s consolidated data on foreign exchange receipts and payments during the same period tracked represents only $9.5 billion, leaving a gap of some. $11.6 billion.
The Bank of Ghana’s 2023 annual financial statement reveals that 11 licensed fintech companies provided inward remittance services, with remittances totaling £57 billion (US$5 billion) in 2023, up from £18 billion (US$3 billion). ) in 2022.
Despite this, the Bank of Ghana failed to disclose the actual amounts received in foreign currencies for both of them in both years, in violation of Accounting Standard No. 21 (IAS 21).
Furthermore, the Bank of Ghana’s Consolidated Statements of Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments, which is responsible for tracking, tracing and accounting for all foreign exchange flows into Ghana, has over the years failed to capture remittances held by payment platforms other than the 23 merchants. Banks.
In fact, existing regulatory frameworks have allowed significant leakages to occur, enabling payment platforms and some fintech companies to illegally hold foreign currency at the expense of the state.
Watch this week Beyond the numbers With Isaac Kofi Agyei and Winston Taki for further analysis:
The World Bank estimates that $4 billion worth of remittances flowed into Ghana’s economy between 2016 and 2022. This makes foreign exchange inflows from remittances the highest compared to cocoa, oil and even gold if receipts are seasonally classified to take into account the real amount delivered.
To test the importance of remittance flows to the Ghanaian economy, it is necessary to look at the data of the Bank of Ghana in its 2023 audited report. a report Internal financial transfers and their role in economic stability
First, the bank revealed that “in the foreign exchange market, the Ghanaian cedi remained relatively stable against major trading currencies in 2023. This is due to improved inflows from the first tranche of the International Monetary Fund (ECF), the domestic gold purchase programme, remittances, and foreign currency purchases.” From mining and oil companies, as well as tight monetary policy.
Secondly, the report stated that Ghana’s income account in 2023 “recorded a lower deficit of US$2.08 billion in 2023, down 53.8 percent from US$4.51 billion in 2022. Current transfers, which largely consist of remittances Private equity, a net inflow of $3.93 billion. in 2023, compared to net inflows of US$3.57 billion in 2022.
Finally, it dropped the bombshell that, “In 2023, 11 licensed fintech companies offered internal remittances to customers. The total value of inbound remittances in 2023 was £57 billion, compared to £18 billion in 2022. Remittances, over the years, licensed FinTech companies offering innovative solutions, hence the tremendous growth witnessed in the year of review.
The reason this is a bombshell is because the Bank of Ghana failed to disclose the foreign exchange equivalent of these remittances as required under International Accounting Standard 21 (IAS 21), which specifies how foreign currency transactions and operations are accounted for in financial statements. Also how to translate financial statements into the presentation currency.
Over the past eight years, data available from the World Bank and the Bank of Ghana have been contradictory. While the World Bank recorded a total of $27.6 billion in remittance inflows to Ghana from 2016 to 2022, the Auditor General Reports In the Bank of Ghana’s consolidated data on foreign exchange receipts and payments during the same period, their value was only $22 billion, leaving a gap of about $5.6 billion. The main question is where did these remittance flows go?
Now, with the central bank’s latest admission that fintech in 2023 facilitated £57bn worth of money transfers, compared to £18bn in 2022, we wonder whether the previous gap in… Reports preparation Between the Bank of Ghana and the World Bank can be attributed to remittance flows passing through fintech and other platforms rather than the 23 commercial banks. This consideration is particularly relevant given that this is the first time during the period under review that the Bank of Ghana has been Reports preparation on remittance flows contained in its annual audited report Reports.
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