Last week I stood at a shop with 5 pieces of 20 pesewas in my hand. That’s 1 cedi. I wanted pure water and gum. The seller looked at me, looked at my money, and said, “Sika wei deɛ merengye o…” (I don’t accept this denomination). Then she turned away.
That is the Ghana we have become. A country where traders have cancelled the law and appointed themselves as the Bank of Ghana.
Let me say it plainly: REJECTING 10P AND 20P COINS IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
The 1992 Constitution, Article 183(1) says: “The Bank of Ghana shall be the Central Bank of Ghana and shall be the only authority to issue the currency of Ghana.”
The law that protects me when I spend that currency is the Currency Act, 1964 (Act 242), Section 4. It states that refusing to accept valid notes or currency coins, including 10p and 20p, as payment is a criminal offense.
Punishment? A fine, up to 3 years in prison, or both.
The government has NOT banned these coins. The Bank of Ghana has NOT withdrawn them. And banks DO accept coins. So the excuse is finished.
They still bear the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Ghana. That means when you reject my 20p, you are spitting on Ghana’s Coat of Arms.
This is not about “small money.” This is about power and lawlessness. Today, you reject my 1 cedi in coins. Tomorrow, you will reject GHS 1 coins because they are “dirty.” Next week, you will reject GHS 5 notes because “I don’t have change.” Where does it end?
And who are you punishing? Not the big men. You are punishing me. The trotro passenger. The student. The mother buying water for 50p. The people who cannot afford MoMo charges. You are telling the poorest Ghanaians that their money is trash.
To Bank of Ghana @BankofGhanaOfficial: You issue the coins. Banks take them. Section 4 of Act 242 gives you the power. Enforce it. Launch a taskforce. Prosecute and fine traders who reject legal tender.
To Ministry of Finance, Ghana: If you want to withdraw them, gazette it, announce it, and redeem them. You don’t fight policy failure by disgracing citizens in the market.
To GUTA and every market queen: You do not make monetary policy. The law already did. Sit down and obey it.
To Consumer Protection Agencies and the Ghana Standards Authority: This is not just bad customer service. This is a crime under Act 242. Arrest it, fine it.
Ghana, we have one currency. It is 1p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, GHS 1 to GHS 200. All of it. All bearing the Coat of Arms. All issued by the Bank of Ghana under Article 183. All protected by the Currency Act.
So to every trader saying “merengye”: You are not rejecting coins. You are committing a crime. You are rejecting the law. You are rejecting Ghana.
Until the government gazettes otherwise, my 5 pieces of 20p are 1 cedi. And I will keep spending them. Try and stop me.
