Rambachan: Govt must not devalue TT dollar

In a media release yesterday, Rambachan noted that while the squeeze on the availability of foreign exchange was due to lower foreign exchange earnings, suggested that citizens “must be brought into the decision-making process since it is their lives and future that are at stake.” “Unfortunately, the Government has not been updating the citizens in a manner in which the citizens can be persuaded to reduce the consumption of foreign exchange and to use more local products,” he stated.

Rambachan stated that the population had “lost trust and faith in the capability of the current prime minister and ministers to competently manage the affairs of the country” as the country had experienced a decline in every sector over the past 16 months. “To devalue the dollar without seeking other alternatives will be to inflict a punishment on the people that is not entirely of their making,” Rambachan said.

“Devaluation is just one alternative in the current situation. Its major achievement will be more TT dollars available to the government.

However the servicing of debts in the face of lower government earnings will not sufficiently alleviate the situation in so far as meeting foreign debt obligations are concerned,” he stated.