Dr. Terrence Farrell, a respected economist, disagrees with Marla Dukharan’s claim that billions of US dollars are “missing” from Trinidad and Tobago. Dukharan posted a video stating that over the past 12 years, more than US$25 billion has disappeared from the country, making us the world’s biggest loser of foreign exchange.
Farrell argues that her analysis is flawed because the flow of money in and out of the country is complex. He points out that not all our earnings from oil and gas go through local banks, so they might not be properly accounted for. He also suggests that some of the “missing” money could be due to errors in how transactions are recorded.
Dukharan acknowledges that there may be some mistakes, but she remains concerned about the large amount of money—over US$2 billion each year—that isn’t being properly tracked. She believes it’s crucial to figure out where this money is going and why, so we can develop better policies to protect our economy.
The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) also weighed in, explaining that some of the confusion stems from errors and incomplete data, such as inaccurate tracking of how much people spend when they travel abroad and the low response rate from companies in their surveys.
But what is the average person supposed to take away from the conflicting perspectives of these two highly intelligent individuals, especially since the Central Bank has not offered much clarity on the issue? If data collection is the root of the problem, what steps are being taken to improve it? How is the CBTT enhancing its ability to track money flows?
Considering the past controversy where a former Central Bank Governor was reportedly fired after releasing the names of companies that purchased one-third of the foreign exchange over three years, one would expect greater efforts to encourage comprehensive data collection and transparency. How is it that the public remains unaware of where large sums of money, particularly from oil and gas exports, are coming from and where they are going? This is yet another sign of the lack of transparency in our financial systems.
If US$2 billion is indeed unaccounted for each year, then an independent audit or investigation should be conducted to uncover more details about these outflows. Understanding where this money is going could help shape better economic policies and safeguard the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Instead of dismissing Marla Dukharan’s claims as “jackassness,” a responsible leader would have focussed on improving data collection, increasing transparency, and conducting an independent audit to get to the bottom of the issue. What we need are robust systems to enhance our economic policies and protect the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Dennise Demming 