Foreign currency shortages in the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago have given rise to a new trend in Guyana, one that is depleting foreign exchange locally.
Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday told reporters the government has discovered that Trinidadian businesses operating in Guyana are procuring goods for their businesses from Guyana and shipping them to Trinidad.
In so doing, they are utilsing Guyana’s foreign currency to make those payments.
“We notice a trend here is that some Trinidadian companies are procuring large quantities of goods for their businesses in Guyana and in Trinidad and making payments from here to their suppliers,” Jagdeo explained at a press conference held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
He noted in a wider sense, however, that while the act may not be illegal, there must be consideration for Guyanese interest.
Earlier this year, local private sector players had complained of a shortage of foreign currency, specifically US dollars.
“We have to examine those who are requesting the foreign currency… to see if there are unusual spikes from some people.
“…Based on what we have observed, this is payment of goods for another country,” Dr. Jagdeo told the news conference.
The Vice President also railed against the constant “running down” of the Guyanese economy by Trinidadian businesses and politicians.
It includes recent disparaging comments made about the Guyanese dollar by Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Rowley.
“Let them live in a fantasy and the fact remains that today a lot of Trinidadian companies, because of intense foreign currency shortages and intense control, for months and months people can’t get foreign currency in that country,” Jagdeo added.
In a separate interview, the VP said one local commercial bank, just this week, was making higher requests for foreign currency and he noted that several banks had significantly more forex than their requests.
Following a clash between the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Bank of Guyana on the shortage of foreign currency earlier this year, the two sides met to discuss the issue.
There, it was noted that an interbank network exists to facilitate the sharing of currency among banks but moral persuasion, not any rules, is relied upon to encourage the banks to share.
On Thursday, Jagdeo supported that solution, noting that the interbank network would be welcomed rather than individual banks keeping foreign currency.
The Vice President assured reporters that the government was ready to put more foreign currency in the market if needed.
