Economics and finance is certainly not my forte, but as many other Trinbagonians the difficulty in acquiring US dollars at our banks and elsewhere in the past few years has affected me in a very personal way. So my simple question is, why was there a need to change the existing system of foreign exchange distribution, (lay man’s term) when it seemed to function proficiently?
Secondly, it does not go unnoticed that the Central Bank Governor Mr Jwala Rambarran and the former Minister of Finance Mr Larry Howai, were both eager to point out and cite in the recent past the strict confidentiality laws and policies which the Central Bank is bound by, making it impossible to disclose the answers to several past challenges.
It was therefore quite shocking to witness the ease with which Mr Rambarran selectively publicly named the corporations which consumed large amounts of foreign currency.
While holding no brief for these conglomerates, I am left to wonder who the un-named individuals are, who may have been able to avail themselves of millions of US dollars, and for what purpose.
At the end of the day, there have been too many palpably bad decisions made, inadvertently or otherwise, authorised by the Central Bank which have negatively impacted our economy, the financial sector, and ultimately, the man in the street.
The reality is the price of oil is at the lowest it has been in years, turbulent economic times lay ahead and we need the most competent people at the helm.
Luana Lezama,
Arima.
