(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO — Suriname should learn for the situation in Guyana and take measures to prevent large scale hoarding with gold. Predictions that the gold price might soon soar to US$ 2,000 per troy ounce has caused widespread hoarding neighboring Guyana.
Compared to last year reports of produced quantities have dropped with 20 percent. This could seriously affect the Guyanese economy, eventually resulting in devaluation and inflation. Georld Dompig, manager of the Gold Restructuring Commission (OGS), says this should be a wake-up call for Suriname. The OGS official advises the government to start negotiations with buyers and exporters of gold. Annually Suriname exports close to US$ 1 billion in gold, 65 percent of which is produced by small-scale mining operations. International predictions foresee a rise in the gold price to aid the weak US dollar.
Dompig refers to anti cartel watchdog GATA, which, supported by studies from Harvard, has accused the US and other western nations of deliberately keeping the price of gold low to prevent the dollar to lose its status as international currency. However, western nations cannot control the situation much longer. Hoarders have countered by keeping large quantities of gold in their safes. Guyana is now desperately trying to prevent a drop in export. The umbrella organization of gold buyers has even released a statement urging its members not to forget the significance of gold for the Guyanese economy. Dompig is aware of the situation in Guyana, but he assures that hoarding tactics are not being applied in Suriname. ‘If it should happen it becomes a dangerous situation because it opens up opportunities for laundering money.’ Still the official says that hoarding in Suriname will not have a similar effect as in Guyana because local tax measures are more favorable than at the western neighbour.
