Today's Guyana online newspapers carry several articles which repeat a statement issued by the government of Guyana denying stories that the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) is in a state of crisis, and is seeking a billion-dollar bail-out from the Central Bank. The government's statement seems hell-bent on denying and on castigating the bearers of those stories about the state of GBTI, particularly those carried by Living Guyana and a VCT newscast (which were later retracted by both media).
So here's the good news about Guyana's financial system as spread reported by the government of Guyana:
The Government further wishes to condemn in the harshest possible manner what appears to be a coordinated attempt to cast aspersions on the strength of our financial system. Such an approach is reckless and completely inconsistent with the practice of responsible journalism by knowledgeable professionals. As has been reiterated by the Central Bank, Guyana’s financial system continues to be stable and the financial institutions operating in Guyana remain well-managed and financially sound.
Meanwhile, CLICO clients are still worried about their policies, and there appears to be a lot of silence around the state of affairs over there. Stabroek News couldn't get a comment from the Insurance Commissioner, Maria van Beek in response to customers' complaints about their policies and their concerns about an economic downturn.
And as the Government of Guyana seems intent on sending this message about financial stability, there appears to be more lack of confidence about their handling of money--this time from Canada. In an effort to make its international assistance "more focused, more effective, and more accountable," the Canadian government (in a statement on Monday) recently dropped Guyana from its list of aid recipients. A condition President Jagdeo claimed to be unaware of two days ago.
Now given these internal and external concerns about Guyana's money dealings and management, one wonders who this emphatic talk about a stable state of financial affairs by the Government of Guyana is meant to pacify?
[More later]
