In an interview on the Leslie Delatour show, hosted by our colleague Kesner Pharel on Radio Métropole on January 2, 2024, the new governor of the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH), Ronald Gabriel, was invited to explain the reasons behind the significant decrease in the exchange rate over the past few months. Before addressing this question, Mr. Gabriel first analyzed what happened in the national economy, admitting that the fiscal year 2022-2023 was extremely challenging with many hurdles.

Ronald Gabriel identifies four main factors that characterized the past fiscal year. First, insecurity leading to a disruption in supply chains, a lack of mobility of people and goods, affecting relative prices with consequences on inflation. The economic activity slowdown caused by insecurity resulted in a decrease in the demand for currencies for imports. Then there is the cost of insecurity in terms of the brain drain. In March 2023, Mr. Gabriel reports that the banking sector had recorded 243 cases of resignations. One banking institution had even lost a quarter of its staff.