Adina Bastidas says companies NOT asking for greenbacks; banks disinforming

<a href=www.vheadline.com>venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Thursday, May 15, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue   Responding to criticism from many quarters, including the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) about the slowness in handing over dollars, Venezuelan Exchange Administration Office (Cadivi)  deputy president, Adina Bastidas says her office is doing all it can to speed up authorizations and blames the delays on other factors. 

Addressing the National Assembly (AN), former Venezuelan Executive Vice President Bastidas complains that many companies have not requested dollars ... "formerly 4,000 applications were handled ... now we are handling much less." 

The banks have not been pulling their weight either, Bastidas claims,  and are "disinforming" rather than informing clients as regards how to go about applying. 

Bastidas calls on the AN to investigate the situation with importers, whom she claims continue to conspire against the government. 

"They already have imported a lot and have reserves." 

The government, Bastidas says,  will guarantee private sector foreign exchange debts, even though she admits that the company register will only start this week. 

"We are reassuring people abroad and we consider Eximbank's decision to close credits as a political and not economic decision." 

Venezuelan columnist Miguel Salazar says Bastidas has the "power to baptize and excommunicate" now that she is in Cadivi and warns about the presence of exchange control brokers with easy access to Cadivi ... "just think Adina dreams of becoming Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) president."