Central Bank rubbishes Jagdeo claims about low reserves
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is of the firm view that there is a significant decline in foreign currency at the Central Bank. He believes that this is responsible for the recent crackdown against some businesses which are not registered cambios but are engaging in the changing of foreign currency to Guyana dollars.
At his most recent press conference, Jagdeo said, “… from all indications, they (government) have an unbelievable shortage of currency at Central Bank. The reserves are declining and they don’t have the money to meet obligations…We are going to see this evolve a bit more because you can’t hide this for long. This is not the end of the problem…” When contacted yesterday to comment on this matter, senior Central Bank officials said that Jagdeo’s perspective couldn’t be further from the truth. The officials stressed that there is no “unbelievable shortage.” One senior board member said, “Reserves go up and down all the time depending on the payments you have to make and I can tell you for a fact that the reserves are being prudently managed. Also, the crackdown on the currency exchange at certain places has to do with following the law. Must we allow certain practices to continue fearing what Mr. Jagdeo might interpret it to mean? Of course not! “In an advertisement a few days ago, Bank of Guyana which is the regulator of commercial financial institutions and cambios licensed to trade in foreign currencies, said it has received credible information of use of foreign currency by unlicensed entities. “The Bank of Guyana notes with concern that some businesses are accepting foreign currency for the purpose of settling payments for transactions – instead of Guyana dollars.” While Central Bank Governor, Dr. Gobind Ganga would not immediately go into details during a recent interview on the matter, Kaieteur News has learnt from Government officials that authorities have been paying close attention to the Cuban traders in Guyana. With Chinese retailers and wholesalers in recent years growing in number, especially along Regent and Robb Streets, Cubans, especially, have been coming here with the precious US dollars. It is believed that upwards of US$2M alone in trade is being done with the Chinese stores each month. This does not include transportation to and from the Timehri airport and accommodation.
(Kaieteurnews)