Monrovia – Family members, friends and employees of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) cheered on as Milton Weeks raised his right hand and got sworn in as the next governor of the Central Bank of Liberia on Friday May 13, 2016 at the headquarters of the bank on Ashmun Street.
Cllr. Joseph Jallah, legal counsel of the CBL, performed the ceremony, calling on the governor to work in the confines of the law as per the CBL Act.
David Farhat, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the bank, indicated that it is the tradition of the bank to swear in a new governor when the tenure expires.
Two other newly appointed board members, Kollie Tamba and Elsie Badio, also took similar oath to serve as board governors.
Responding after the swearing in ceremony, Governor Weeks, a former member of the board of governors, thanked President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for his preferment of the post.
In remarks, he called on the employees that he has not come to the bank to change anyone or to change things around.
“I have not come here to change anything around. You have worked very hard over the years. What we intend to do is to build on the existing policies,” said Weeks.
Milton Weeks was recently appointed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and confirmed by the Senate to head the CBL following the end of the tenure of former governor, Dr. J. Mills Jones.
Dr. Jones’ tenure ended early this year following the completion of a two term. He is best remembered at the CBL for his micro-loan scheme, giving out to locals across the country with the aim of empowering them.
On the same Friday, the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) honored its out-going Deputy Governor for Economic Policy, Boima Kamara.
Kamara served the CBL over the past fourteen years and was recently appointed to replace former Finance Minister, Amara Konneh, who has now taken a new assignment with the World Bank in Nairobi, Kenya.
Deputy CBL Governor Kamara is the second employee of the CBL to have been appointed in the Unity Party (UP) led government of President Johnson Sirleaf as Minister of Finance.
The first employee was Augustine Ngafuan who rose from the CBL to the rank of Finance Minister and later Foreign Minister until his resignation last year because of his political ambition in the ensuing 2017 Presidential and Legislative elections.
During the honoring program at the Central Bank of Liberia on Friday, former Deputy Governor Kamara was praised and offered several gifts for his dedicated 14-year service by all of the departments’ heads at the CBL.
“Kamara, God knows you and he will be with you where-so-ever you go,” said an elderly employee.
Responding, he thanked the President for his appointment and the CBL family for the honor bestowed on him.
On the question of his current job as Finance Minister, Kamara indicated that the issue of the country’s economy needs joint collaboration with all financial stakeholders.
“The issue of the country’s economy requires the joint collaboration of all financial stakeholders mainly the government’s revenue base the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA),” said Finance Minister Boima Kamara.
Kennedy L. Yangian [email protected]
