President Ramkalawan receives CBS annual report 2021 |05 April 2022
Governor Abel hands over a copy of the report to President Ramkalawan (Photo: Thomas Meriton)
The Governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS), Caroline Abel, has said that the increase in prices of commodities will continue given that the war between Russia and Ukraine, two important global import markets, is still ongoing.
Governor Abel made the statement after presenting the CBS annual report for 2021 together with a copy of the Financial Statements for the year ending December 31, 2021 to President Wavel Ramkalawan at State House yesterday afternoon.
Speaking to the press after her meeting with President Ramkalawan, Governor Abel said that apart from discussing issues in the report related to 2021, their cordial discussion was also mainly on the recent event of 2022, that of the Ukraine-Russia crisis, and how this is affecting the world economic landscape and taking into account that we are dependent on the world for trade.
She noted that the war is mainly affecting us through high prices of commodities and also in the movement of goods between foreign ports to our country.
“It’s important we take note that world events can affect us significantly and these are the kinds of discussion we have with the president, to see how we can improve the resilience of the country in light of international events,” Goverrnor Abel said.
Governor Abel said that although the war has not affected the tourism sector, of which there is continuous increase in revenue from the sector, the impact of the war which has brought a downward trend in the level of production, is causing price hikes around the world with regard to which some countries are putting in place measures for the benefit of the public.
She added that what the Seychelles Trading Company (STC) announced over the weekend with regard to the rationing of cooking oil, represents the measures that some countries are putting in place as a result of low production of the commodity.
“It is not something negative but only a way of being conscious of what is happening and to manage the resources available to the maximum length of time so that they are available at all times,” said Governor Abel who noted that we have to be conscious that measures will have to be taken depending on the impact on us from external factors.
The presentation of the CBS report is an annual event and it is the second time that such a report has been presented to President Ramkalawan. The report articulates what has happened in the domestic side of our economy including external factors that impacted on it. It also explains the different functions of the bank, what has been done in 2021, what is anticipated for 2022 and the management of the country’s foreign reserves.
Speaking on the country’s reserves, Governor Abel said that it is quite significant for now and it is being used to pay government expenses and debts locally and abroad.
She added that since her last appearance in the National Assembly with the Minister for Finance, National Planning and Trade, Naadir Hassan, to explain the economic reality in the country as a result of events affecting the world, CBS has up to now not used its reserves to support the domestic market as the tourism sector is bringing enough foreign currencies to support the economy.
Governor Abel stated that President Ramkalawan, who will take time to assimilate the report, is happy with the work being done by CBS and he has congratulated the staff for it.
Patrick Joubert