The ratio dicendi identified by Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran for the historic and unprecedented disclosures of the highest users of the scarce, rapidly dwindling and vital stock of forex over the past three years may be summarised as high and compelling public interest, potential threat to the integrity of the sensitive and fragile current financial system and the Central Bank’s own core remit as clearly set out in statutes and objects.
These ecological considerations that underpinned and appeared to justify his circumstantial albeit conditional disclosure of the names of private companies accessing the forex that is regarded as, and is in fact public property or “patrimoney,” may be summarised as follows:
• The high public involvement/outcry for the resolution of the market shortage of forex and the range of difficulties occasioned to and suffered by citizens and companies including SME’s in their quest to conduct legitimate international transactions expeditiously
• The reversion to the 2014 system of forex distribution and allocation to banks ordered by the Minister of Finance, the release of US$500 million gobbled up in a short time and the re-occurrence of the shortage at a time of intensified Christmas imports
• Purchases of forex by Venezuelan nationals for the black market trade
• The potential threat to the integrity of the current financial system posed by the plummeting of energy prices aggravated by the concatenation of calls for the devaluation of the TT-dollar as a conservation antidote geared to stem the current tide of frenetic forex purchases
• That fact that the confidentiality duty of the Central Bank was not carte blanche but clearly conditional as unambiguously stated in Chap 79: Section 8(6) of the Financial Institutions Act
• The calls made by the Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and the general public to know the recipients/beneficiaries of the US$500m released by the Central that transformed and elevated the issue into a public interest matter that now evoked the transparency and accountability duty of care of the Central Bank.
• The advent of the clutches of a recession and the consequent reduction of inflows of forex from the energy sector that will exacerbate and decimate the already fast dwindling stock of economic—driving forex below the US$10 bn mark.
Let me congratulate Governor Jwala Rambarran for having the testicular fortitude and courage to address the issue frontally, surgically, creatively and in the national interest and not to succumb in imposed silence to the powerful capitalist ethic of commercial confidentiality even if using vital state resources.
Stephen Kangal
Caroni