Former Senate President Pro-Tempore Armah Jallah dares Central Bank of Liberia Deputy Executive Governor Charles Sirleaf to show evidence that he (Jallah) granted the CBL permit to print Liberian banknotes or mint coins.
Deputy Executive Governor Sirleaf told the Plenary of the House of Representatives that no money is missing as had been reported, and that the 53rd Legislature, especially former Senate President Pro-Tempore Armah Jallah and former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf authorized the printing of additional 10 Billion Liberian Banknotes.
Mr. Sirleaf, son of former President Sirleaf, is one of the principal witnesses in an ongoing legislative inquest to determine who actually authorized the printing of additional 10.5 billion LRD by the Central Bank of Liberia in 2017, and how the money was infused into the economy.
In her testimony before the plenary on Monday, November 12, a former Board member of the CBL, Madam Meliseh Emeh, told the lawmakers that in order to get more clarity on the alleged missing billion banknotes, Mr. Sirleaf should be queried, because as Deputy Executive Governor of the CBL at the time of the printing of the new currency, he was mostly at the center of the operations of the bank, as Acting Executive Governor.
But taking the witness’ stand on Monday, 19 November Mr. Sirleaf said the authorization to print money was given by both the 53rd Legislature and his mother, former President Sirleaf in 2017.
But speaking to the media over the weekend, former Pro-Tempore Senator Jallah dismissed the information is misleading, saying the Senate President Pro-Tempore and the President do not have the authority to authorize printing of banknotes and minting of coins.
“I dare Mr. Charles Sirleaf about the accusation against me. If the Central Bank has any information on the authorization of [printing] banknotes and minting coins, I request the CBL to make that public,” Jallah maintains.
By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor
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