PM: $100 change over going smoothly

THE PRIME Minister has said the change from the paper $100 notes to the new polymer notes has gone smoothly.

“Given the complexity of the exercise to ensure the changeover, by and large it has gone very well.”

He was speaking yesterday at the post-Cabinet media conference at Whitehall, Port of Spain.

Dr Rowley said he was not surprised by the initial rush to change notes, and noted that the commercial banks were the last to be informed of the change.

“There was a need for secrecy in the planning and execution. If it was not kept on a need-to-know basis, it would not have been doable.”

He said despite a report that the country had run out of the new notes, provisions had been made and that was unlikely to happen. A total of 80 million old bank notes were being replaced with the new polymer notes.

Rowley said that the change was done like clockwork, but there was some inconvenience. He added the exercise was aimed at sources and methods of funds and some people had issues with their source of funds. He stressed it was the law that once money was being brought into the financial system, then a source had to be identified.

On claims that Tobago was being “oppressed” by the change, Rowley pointed out the Central Bank had made provision for people who could not access commercial banks on the island to have their money changed. He also dismissed reports that elderly people were collapsing while waiting in line to change money.

On comparisons with the government of India’s demonetisation in 2016, Rowley explained India abolished two notes and then set about to replace them, while TT exchanged an old note for a new note and ensured the new notes were ready in time for the change.

He said some people had criticised the timing of the change but he predicted there would have been criticisms whenever it was done, whether Carnival, Christmas, Easter, a Monday or a Tuesday. He added some people were refusing to accept the old notes ahead of the December 31 deadline, but “that did not cover much of what we doing.”