Yesterday morning, like every weekday morning, my manager contacted our bank requesting foreign exchange in US dollars to pay our suppliers. Once again she was told we could only get US$2,000. Imagine, in an oil-and gas-producing country, we cannot even pay our bills and now our suppliers are threatening to sever our relationship. The question one must ask is who is benefiting from the millions of foreign exchange dollars earned daily, and where is it going?
Attempts to have the Minister of Finance and the Central Bank Governor intervene bore no results. For importers of vehicles and parts the requested currency for trade is US dollars, and even attempting to use Yen will cause a major loss in the conversion process. Thousands of businesses are on the verge of extinction but doh worry, Carnival is around the corner so we can wine away our stress.
Inshan Ishmael,
via e-mail