The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) has weighed in on the condemnation of a fake video that circulated on social media last week alleging plans by President Weah to rig the 2023 elections.
CBL which was mentioned in this propaganda video has described it as a total fabrication that L$8.0B of the newly printed one-hundred-dollar banknotes was diverted to finance President George Weah’s re-election bid.
The Bank in a statement issued Friday 23 September noted that in keeping with its commitment to a transparent and accountable process restated that the first L$4.0B brought into the country in November 2021 was used to ensure that there was enough liquidity in the banks for the December and January festive season, while the second L$4.0 B brought in February 2022 was used to begin the replacement of mutilated banknotes.
In addition, the Bank explained that as of September 19, 2022, a total of L$7.35 billion of the L$8.0 billion had been infused into circulation, which has helped to address the perennial liquidity problem faced by banks.
The CBL noted that it has informed the public on a regular basis about developments relating to the currency reform. In this regard, the Bank has said that as it begins bringing in the minted coins and more of the newly printed banknotes, it is building and remodeling permanent and temporary structures in Monrovia to store, verify, and issue the new banknotes and coins, while defacing and destroying the old banknotes based on approved policies and procedures.
The statement stated that the CBL has put in place measures to guarantee the currency changeover exercise—from procurement to the delivery of the new currency into the CBL vault —is transparent and accountable, as evidenced by the technical support and observation of the process by our international partners, including Kroll and Associates, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the African Development Bank (ADB).
The chairs of the House and Senate committees on Banking and Currency also witnessed the arrival into the country and delivery into the CBL vault of the L$8.0 billion of the newly printed banknotes.
The US Embassy issued a press statement, following the procurement process, praising the process as a “win for Liberia”, and the IMF has acknowledged the successful implementation of the currency changeover process thus far, as a key milestone under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program.
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The Bank noted that it continues to benefit from technical and policy advice from the Fund regarding the currency changeover as well as regular monitoring of the process.
The CBL further assured both domestic and international stakeholders that it remains committed to ensuring a credible and transparent currency changeover and prudent monetary policy to promote macroeconomic stability and sustainable development in Liberia.
