Gov’t tightening up on foreign exchange access

-amid huge demand, heavy Central Bank injection

Government has injected a staggering US$1.2 billion in foreign currency into the market this year to cushion demand compared to  US$332 million last year and in response, President Irfaan Ali yesterday announced a number of measures to curb the manipulation of foreign exchange payments.

“So, the government, with immediate effect, will be implementing a series of policy measures. And you would have noticed we have also the GRA, the Central Bank technical support team and consultants, the Minister of Public Service, Government Efficiency and Implementation, who is also acting for finance [the Minister of Finance] who is out of jurisdiction. I want to go through these measures, nine measures, that we’re discussing,” the President said in a broadcast on the Office of the President Facebook page.

With the rate of the US$ on the street around $230 to US$1, observers say that the  measures outlined by the President represent the most serious tightening up since the foreign exchange market was freed up in the 1990s. It comes in the wake of routine shortages of foreign currency that sections of the business community have complained about in recent years. Critics have said that the government has not worked out where all the foreign exchange is going even with the large injections into the market.