PORT VILA (Pacnews) — A Vanuatu senior government official has hinted on the possibility of the revaluation of the value of the country’s currency, the vatu.
Roy Mickey Joy, the trade director, said the Vanuatu Economic Committee had asked the government to consider revaluing the vatu to the Minister of Finance.
The vatu is among the strongest currencies in the region: 73 vatu buys one Australian dollar.
“We are operating on an ad hoc economy that is superficial, that imposes so many costs to both the local consumer and the investors,” said Joy.
“If we want to be able go out and catch the big fish, we need to take stock, reduce our own costs and (take) measures to be able to compete effectively,” he said.
Vanuatu’s former Reserve Bank Gov. Samson Ngwelem was sacked in 1998 for announcing a devaluation of the vatu without consulting the government of the day.
Since then, revaluation has been a touchy issue, and while there’s no doubt that it will take place, Joy believes it is more a question of timing.
