OROPOUCHE West MP Davendranath Tancoo has accused the government of manipulating foreign exchange distribution to benefit large businesses allied with the ruling party, while neglecting the needs of medium, small, and micro enterprises (MSMEs).
Speaking at a United National Congress (UNC) briefing in Chaguanas on Sunday, Tancoo targeted Finance Minister Colm Imbert, alleging a decade-long denial of a forex crisis. He claimed that while conglomerates easily accessed foreign exchange, medium small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) struggled.
He said the government has now weaponised the distribution of foreign exchange.
Tancoo criticised the allocation process, which he described as “elitist and discriminatory,” suggesting that monopolies have been created due to selective forex access. He further accused Imbert of breaking promises to address forex shortages and implement supportive measures for MSMEs.
Highlighting the closure of the Exim Bank facility for vital imports, Tancoo warned that some businesses feared speaking out due to potential government retaliation.
He also noted that businesses were facing credit downgrades due to forex scarcity, with the country’s GDP reportedly shrinking by 20% under the current government.
Tancoo raised concerns over Imbert’s access to private information from Exim Bank, questioning the lack of transparency and calling for an apology from the bank. He linked these issues to broader concerns about potential misuse of financial data for political purposes, emphasizing the need for a public investigation into forex distribution practices.
Displaying a graph of declining foreign reserves since 2015, Tancoo pointed to a growing economic crisis, exacerbated by rising foreign debt. He accused the government of failing to innovate new industries to generate forex and presiding over negative foreign investment trends.
Tancoo vowed that a future UNC government would investigate these practices and hold accountable those responsible for what he described as unethical and biased forex distribution.
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