GEORGETOWN – Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo today dramatically escalated the public discourse surrounding the government’s new currency controls, offering a bombshell clarification that targeted alleged abuse by foreign entities, specifically calling out Chinese-owned supermarkets.
The new rules, Jagdeo stressed, are designed to protect local, small businesses while declaring war on what he claims are significant “loopholes” being exploited. Jagdeo moved to reassure Guyanese citizens and entrepreneurs, stating emphatically that the new, strict measures announced by President Dr. Irfaan Ali are not meant to restrict locals from purchasing foreign currency, nor are they intended to make the system “more onerous on Guyanese.”
He confirmed that there will be “significant exemptions for small people” and that local small businesses will not have to go through the “rigid system” of submitting all invoices to match every foreign currency demand.Instead, the Vice President confirmed the measures would mainly apply to major users of foreign currency, claiming that it is at this level that forex is allegedly being “siphoned off… and then sold to other people who are non-Guyanese, to meet their demand elsewhere, or to meet demand that is not captured by the GRA.”
In his sharpest critique, Jagdeo highlighted numerous Chinese-owned supermarkets, claiming they often operate without formal bank accounts despite importing vast quantities of goods. He questioned the shadowy channels through which they allegedly acquire foreign currency. Jagdeo stated that closing these loopholes will achieve two key goals: ensuring these foreign entities pay their fair share of taxes, and stopping the alleged use of Guyanese credit cards and foreign currency to “meet demand in another country.”
Despite the sensational details of alleged abuse, Jagdeo maintained that there is “no crisis in the foreign currency market” and that the Central Bank is well-positioned to meet future domestic demand. The government, he concluded, is purely making a strategic move to ensure financial stability and curb the alleged illicit outflow.
