00:00Finance Minister Kom Imbert's statement starts off saying he has taken note of
00:05commentary in the mainstream media over the last two weeks on the availability
00:10of foreign exchange, the policy for its distribution and the exchange rate of
00:16the TT dollar to the US dollar. On the question of allowing the dollar to float
00:21as per the IMF's recommendation, Imbert echoed government's position against
00:27this. He said that recommendation is nothing new and can be traced as far
00:32back as 2012 and 2013 when quote the then UNC government told the IMF that
00:39they would not contemplating changes to the exchange rate system at this time
00:44end quote. The same position he says was adopted by the present PNM government
00:49which since 2015 maintains a fixed exchange rate to control inflation as
00:56not to quote impose hardships on the poor and vulnerable by giving in to the
01:02irrational demands of the Guardian newspaper and other provocateurs that we
01:07devalue the dollar end quote. He says all a devaluation will do is cause a massive
01:13spike in the cost of living and make everything more expensive and it will
01:18not fabricate more US dollars. The minister notes regional partner Barbados
01:23which has been in an IMF program for many years and almost ran out of foreign
01:29reserves has resolutely refused for the last 49 years to float or devalue its
01:35dollar. Commentators Imbert says should stop wasting time demanding that the TNT
01:40government devalued the dollar and instead try to figure out how Barbados
01:45has managed to keep its dollar fixed for so long and how it has managed to
01:49restrict capital flows despite being in an IMF program. Imbert says he will be
01:55holding consultations over the next month with various interest groups to
02:00determine the best way forward. He says the Ex-Im Bank is working well and it
02:05was not due to pressure by media nor businessmen to resume the forex window
02:11for essential imports at the Ex-Im Bank. The minister says months ago government
02:16to clients of the Ex-Im Bank that it was reviewing the list of essential imports
02:21and the quantum of foreign exchange made available through that particular forex
02:25window. The essential imports facility has worked well he says but needs
02:31restructuring as there's no longer any need for preferential access to forex
02:36for the importation of items such as face masks, respirators and hand
02:42sanitizers. It is disingenuous he says to imply that this measure was resumed
02:48merely because of quote media pressure and the noise made by certain
02:52businessmen who by their own admission do not participate in the Ex-Im Bank
02:57facility end quote
Comments