Monrovia – President George Manneh Weah has called on the 54th Legislature of Liberia to act swiftly in authorizing the printing of a new family of banknotes to address the current liquidity crisis grappling the Liberian economy.
President Weah made the request in his fourth State of the Nation Address to the joint session of the Legislature moments ago.
According to the President, the call for printing new family of banknotes was based on the advice of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), which has the power to print, pending legislative approval.
The President said despite the printing and infusion of US$4 billion by the CBL, the economy was challenged by the shortage of Liberian dollars in the last quarter of 2020, owing to the damage of 40 percent of the current banknotes in circulation.
Although the President did not state the total amount of money he wants to be printed, the CBL Executive Governor, Jolue Aloysius Tarlue, appearing before the Plenary of the House of Representatives recently said, to address the shortage of Liberian banknotes on the market, the CBL needs the authorization to print L$27.5 billion to infuse in the economy over the period of three years. Governor Tarlue said the bank will need US$21.7 million to print the money if it is authorized, something he said was not on hand currently.
President Weah is expected to officially inform the Legislature, with detail information concerning the printing of a new family of banknotes through a written communication shortly.
Speaking on several national issues, the President said the most significant factor that negatively impacted the Liberian economy was COVID-19 which continue to ravage major economies of the world.
Despite the challenge, he adds that his government was on course with its flagship development agenda, the Pro Poor Agenda for Development and Prosperity (PAPD), with infrastructure development at the height of its implementation.
He thanked Liberia’s traditional partners including the United States Government, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Union and the African Development Bank, among others for their immense support to Liberia amid the fight against COVID-19.
This report is developing, detail to follow…