Truworths, a South African retail clothing company, has closed shop in Nigeria due to unfavourable monetary policy of the government. In a Reuters report, Michael Mark, the company’s chief executive officer’s said: “We were unable to operate the stores properly any longer because we were unable to send merchandise to the stores because there’s regulation preventing that.” The clothing company said it was difficult paying its rent and getting access to foreign exchange. President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has blocked access to foreign exchange for 41 items from official access. Due to the restrictive policy and increase in foreign exchange in the parallel market – which is almost 50 percent higher than the official rates – it has become impossible for business owners to source forex for their goods.
