Editor, RE: “Local transactions must be restricted to francs” (The New Times, August 6). Currency restrictions can boomerang by encouraging those who earn foreign exchange to keep it out of the country because they fear they could lose its control once it is in the country. It also leads to a currency black-market and the red tape creates opportunities for “unlawful players” for those with the power of authorising access to otherwise restricted foreign currencies. I have seen the negative consequences of foreign currency restrictions in many countries, and I wouldn’t advise our monetary authorities to become seduced by those sirens. The unintended opposite effects would push the Rwanda Franc into the ground. The only real sustainable solution is to improve our balance of payments. Increase the value of our export revenue relative to our imports, not through import controls either, but to increase both the variety of our exportable as well as their quantity and value. MK
