Monrovia – Milton Weeks, Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia has told members of the Legislative Committee on Banking and Currency that the mandate to print five hundred Liberian dollar denomination Banknotes came from President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Report by Henry Karmo – [email protected]
Appearing before the Committee he also informed the committee that the power to add denomination lies in the authority of the CBL as stated in the act creating the CBL and he did not need authority from the Legislature to do that.
The appearance of the Governor and his team was as a result of a communication written by Representative Saah Joseph co-chair on the banking and currency committee who expressed concern over the changing of features and addition of new denominations of the Liberian currency.
Representative Julius Berrien, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency told FrontPageAfrica recently that the Legislature did not give the bank any mandate to make changes in features such as color, size and denomination on the Liberian dollars.
Representative Berrien also raised concerns over the CBL’s authority to change features in the new bank notes and print new five hundred Liberian dollars denomination.
In an interview with FrontPageAfrica, Rep. Berrien said the request from the CBL which was granted by the Legislature was to replace mutilated bank notes, not to change features or add new denomination.
Not stating what the Legislature would do, he said: “If you read the communication, they did not ask to change features on the money or print additional L$500 bank notes so I don’t know where that authority came from.”
The CBL is claiming that the decision is in keeping with its statutory mandate to at all times ensure that the integrity of the Liberian Dollar is uncompromisingly maintained.
Since the start of 2016, the Liberian economy which experienced two recent shocks-the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus and the decline in the prices of commodities including iron ore, rubber, and others on the world market has been experiencing downturn which is compounded by devaluation of the Liberian dollars specifically in exchange with the United States dollars-its main local trading partner.
The two currencies are treated as legal tenders in Liberia, making it a major problem when one- mainly the Liberian dollar falls drastically against the other as the accompanying effects are felt through increment in the prices of basic commodities on the local market.
While the Liberian dollar and the United States dollar are both legal means of purchase, many Liberian prefer carrying the United States dollars perhaps for many financial and economic reasons-the United States is not printed by the Liberian government and as such the currency is normally scare as compared to the Liberian dollars.
Besides, the United States dollar meets the essential requirements of good money- including general acceptability, stability, portability, durability, storability, amongst others, which the Liberian dollar does not meet.
The Central Bank of Liberia recently announced that it will soon infuse on the Liberian market new banknotes with the addition of a new denomination of $500.
“This new series includes, among others, the unifying nature of the existing Liberian Banknotes, and as such, has maintained all previous portraits.
The CBL has also reinforced the security features in the new series, which are both visible and invisible. In addition, the Bank has ensured that the new series is printed on a higher quality substrate to guarantee longevity and reduce porosity.
The new series also introduces a new denomination of L$500 (Five Hundred Dollars), in addition to the present denominations”, the bank stated.
Since the announcement, there has been a public concern that the CBL is overstepping its mandate by introducing new features and denomination which, some say, was not mandated by the Legislature.
