Govt has vital task to tackle forex: Barker

National

The caretaker government has an important task to tackle the long- standing unavailability of foreign exchange which is clearly critical,  Director Institute of National Affairs Paul Barker says.
Barker told The National that reverting to a market-driven mechanism would reduce speculation and uncertainty.
Deputy prime minister and Treasurer Charles Abel said he had noted the concerns around accessibility of foreign exchange.
He requested a detailed briefing from the Central Bank governor and noted that the focus on increasing business activities would capture the issues relating to the availability of foreign exchange.
Barker said another critical task was to ensure that taxes and duties were actually applied universally and not just for selected companies that had been long-established and more responsible.
“That means going out and enveloping businesses not paying taxes,” Barker said.
sometimes charging it to customers) and bringing them in line, even if this requires getting out and sometimes imposing tax estimates, where firms fail to cooperate,” Barker said.