Let people exchange those old $100 notes

THE EDITOR: I write on behalf of those people, a few well-off but mostly poor, who, for one reason or another, are still holding some old $100 notes. I wish to add my voice to those who have been appealing to the authorities in recent times to give them another opportunity to exchange their hard-earned dollars for legal notes. It's especially important in this “banga season,” when work and money are so hard to come by.

I am not unmindful of what has been done to make life a bit easier for the general population. Driving permits and ID cards are valid until December 31. We can buy tax-free/VAT-free laptops until the end of the year. (It still puzzles me why desktops were excluded.) And these measures come with a cost to the Government; it's potential revenue it will not now collect.

What I'm proposing comes at no cost to the Government but will benefit many simple, honest people.

If you tell people now (at the beginning of November), that they can go to any bank, with, say, any amount up to $3,000, there will be no rush, no hassle, no unnecessary waiting; everything will flow seamlessly. And after December 31? They can make the trek to the Central Bank.

I do not subscribe to the idea that what was once legal tender should have an expiration date. Yes, it can be withdrawn from general circulation, but expire? No. For the most part it's money that was legitimately earned and owned. Punishing the innocent majority for the sins of the guilty minority (who escape, anyway) is not a good philosophy by which to rule.

A few years ago, I was in London and tried to pay for something with a £20 note. I was told it was no longer legal tender. I went to the nearest bank to find out if I could still change it. I could. No problem, no hassle. That's how it should be.

Having everyone go to the Central Bank after December 31, 2019, was too onerous, especially if you had only a few hundred-dollar bills to change or lived far away. (Hence, I suspect, there are many who still have a few notes and would welcome this move.) I know a man from Cedros who had $200 to change. When he thought of the taxi fare to Port of Spain and back, the waiting hours, with no guarantee of being served, what do you think he did? He still has $200 to change.

When you see people selling a few limes hoping/scrunting to make a dollar, you understand how much $10 means to them, much less $100. When I buy five coconuts for $40, the vendor is always so grateful for a "big" sale.

We are accustomed to financial decisions being made for the benefit of the rich and famous. Is it too much to ask that we do something to benefit the small man?

I guarantee that whoever makes the decision to allow the exchange of old notes will be the beneficiary of so much goodwill, it will be the best Christmas present they could ever hope to receive.

NOEL KALICHARAN

via e-mail