Money shortage hits Maryland

By Patrick N. Mensah, Maryland county

Marketers at the Pleebo General Market in Pleebo District, Maryland County have decried scarcity of 5 and 10 Liberian Dollars coins in the market, hindering smooth transactions. 

Speaking to this paper over the weekend in the market, a cross-section of marketers expressed frustrations over lack of sufficient Liberian Banknotes in the county.

A market woman, Annie Wah, say the lack of 5 and 10 Liberian Dollar Banknotes is a serious challenge they face in the district.

In November, the Central Bank of Liberia placed newly minted LRD5 and LRD10 coins in circulation in Monrovia thus, easing change shortage in the capital. 

But Madam Wah recounts that several times they let go many of their customers, who refused to leave their change or to buy more goods because of scarcity of smaller Liberian currency denominations.

She notes that the Central Bank of Liberia had promised to keep a stable currency on the market, claiming that some officials of the Bank even promised that by September 2022, a fresh consignment of banknotes containing 918 boxes of 20 and 50 denominations will have been infused into the Liberian economy to solve the shortage of banknotes on the market.

But she laments that since the promise, marketers in Maryland are yet to see the new Liberian banknotes, which poses serious threat to their business hence, calling on Central government to quickly intervene.

Another market woman, Madam Albertha Jones, names bad road condition as one of the main obstacles to marketers in southeast Liberia.

Madam Jones also observes that issue of insufficient money in the county is causing slow transaction in the market.

She notes that several customers complain daily that their money is in their phone, but there’s no way to cash out because of scarcity of banknotes across the entire county.

The Heads of Banking and Corporate Communication respectively at the CBL, Messrs. William Grant Jlopleh and Cyrus K. Badio, had appealed to the public via radio station to exercise calm, assuring that the CBL was doing everything to infuse in the market newly printed banknotes brought into the country to address the current shortage of smaller currency denominations.

Both officials explained that the economic move was aimed at replacing mutilated LRD20 and LRD50 banknotes in circulation.

According to them, the long-awaited 5 and 10 Liberian Dollar coins have been minted in good quantity and will have infused into the economy by early October 2022, but it is yet to become a reality for marketers in the southeast.

The Central Bank of Liberia has printed new family of Liberian banknotes totaling 48.7 billion for the economy. Editing by Jonathan Browne