Refuting BoG claims about foreign currency stability

Dear Editor,

In wake of reports from the Bank of Guyana to the effect that there is excess foreign currency in the system, the question arises: Who are we to believe? Finance Minister Winston Jordan? Bank of Guyana Governor Dr Gobind Ganga? Top bank officials? Or the many concerned and frustrated businessmen who are not getting their requests for foreign currency fulfilled, based on the exchange rates being touted by the central bank?

Intensified calls from several of the very concerned businessmen have been increasing, as their frustrations grow at not being satisfied with the responses they have been getting from their respective banks regarding their demands for foreign currency. The question is: Who is lying? Who is being deceptive? Is it the Bank of Guyana? Is it the Minister of Finance? Are the banks in Georgetown lying? Or is it the concerned and frustrated businessmen who are lying? The Bank of Guyana, on February 2, 2017, issued a Cabinet-certified directive to licensed currency dealers — which include commercial banks and non-bank cambios — to limit the spread between the buying and selling rates for the US dollar to no more than $3, while instructing commercial banks to restrict credit card purchases in foreign currency to non-business purchases.The Central Bank head has said he has the figures to prove that reserves at the Bank of Guyana have improved from approximately US$598 million at the end of 2015 to about US$625 million at the end of 2016, representing an increase of US$28M.

Sincerely,

Ras Leon Saul