By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
President Julius Maada Bio has urged the country’s central bank to ensure financial stability in accordance with its mandate. The president made the statement at the launch of the redenominated Leone currency at the Bank of Sierra Leone last Friday 1st July.
He said the task of the government in the coming years is to sustain the value and reputation of the currency. He also highlighted the need for continued responsible management of the economy and increasing the value of the new currency through the implementation of the right policies on overall economic management and government spending.
The president acknowledged that the private sector will take quite a bit to be redenomination ready. ‘’But investments now will make a lot of financial sense in a few months and years as you save on operational and technical costs associated with using smaller volumes of notes,’’ he said.
He warned that the informal economy may struggle with transactions using the new notes and encouraged the central bank to intensify its sensitization campaigns in the transition period and beyond.
‘’ Reach out to the ordinary citizen in the markets, places of worship, their communities, in the rural areas, in their villages and towns,’’ Bio said.
He pleaded for fairness and that citizens receive the correct exchange and transaction value for the old notes as they will be used alongside the new currency.
“This is also a civic duty on all of us to help our fellow citizens to get it right. We also have a real opportunity to zero in on more innovation in the
The banking sector,’’ he said.
He also noted that the re-introduction of coins with real purchasing value will reduce the pressure on notes.
He said a National Switch that supports digital financial services will soon be unveiled and called for new technologies to minimize volumes of cash transactions. He said citizens are already familiar with mobile cash systems which he noted the bank can build on to introduce other cashless payment systems with which they can be comfortable and can use with great ease across the economy.
President Bio pointed out that, politicians and self-righteous pundits will soon flood social media, radio, and TV programmes with all manner of negative views about the new note and the intention behind introducing it. He said those individuals will conjure conspiracy theories, doom and gloom stories, and some downright amusing explanations. He added that some politicians will call it a political stunt while some will say it is a feel-good move that the government simply wants to take some zeroes off and people will think an economy that went badly now feels better.
‘’Well, in the spirit of good governance, Sierra Leone now enjoys press freedom and freedom of expression more than ever before. No journalist is in prison, unlike in yesteryear,’’ he said.
The President stated that people, especially opposition politicians, are free to express their very wrong opinions as long as they do so within the confines of the law and do not incite or disrupt the national peace and stability. He said Sierra Leone, like other African countries, the UK, US,
Asian countries are dealing with the very adverse economic effects of
COVID-19 is complicated by the current global crisis in Ukraine.
‘’We are dealing with everything from rising interest rates, inflation, currency depreciation, fuel scarcity, and increased food prices,’’ he said.
He mentioned the queues for fuel in other African countries and other countries around the world.
For the next 90 days, the new Leone note will be used alongside the old Leone at the same value. Even after then, for 45 days, people can still exchange the old currency for the new one at the Bank of Sierra Leone at the same value.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (04/07/22)
