Dollar shortage is due to demand from the black market: Hussein Waheed MP

Komamdoo MP, Hussein Waheed has said that the acute US dollar shortage from the banks of Maldives and the rise of the price of US dollars is because of the demand from the black market in the country.

Debating on the bill on devising economic measures to regulate the earn and the outflow of foreign currency in our economy proposed by Thimarafushi MP Mohamed Mustafa, Hussein Waheed said that amendments are made to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Act because there is no other way for the US dollar shortage in the Maldivian market to be resolved.

Hussein Waheed said that the dollar shortage in the banks has opened the demands and competition in the black market. He noted that although this is the case, there is no apparent depletion in the inflow of dollars to the country.

“However, I say that those in charge of our monetary system or monetary authority either deliberately or mistakenly are doing this to deride and bother our people. The other reason might be that they are disregarding the issue because otherwise those people who earn money by selling dollars might go insolvent and broke,” he said.