Banks Confirm Receipt Of New Liberian Dollar Banknotes
MONROVIA- Oct. 7 (LINA) – Managers of various commercial banks in Liberia Friday confirmed receiving new banknotes from the Central Bank of Liberia(CBL) to replace worn-out and mutilated 20 and 50 Liberian dollar banknotes.
The CBL said this will help ease the issue of change shortage and lack of lower denominations of 5 and 10 Liberian dollars which would shortly be replaced by coins.
It can be recalled that the Legislature in ‘Resolution 001-2021,’ mandated the CBL to print 20, 50, 100, and 500 denominations, as well as mint L$5 and L$10 coins.
Speaking at the regular press briefing at the Ministry of Information Thursday, the chairperson of CBL’s Technical Committee on Currency Reforms, Mussah Kamara, pointed out that the Bank is trying its best to ensure the process is free, transparent, and without delay.
He said the CBL is asking commercial banks to work with all financial institutions to give easy access to the new money to the Liberian people.
Kamara urged citizens with saving accounts to now go to the various commercial banks to withdraw the new money with the same value and pointed out that in order to make the process easier, CBL is working in line with the banks to create special windows for citizens who don’t have saving accounts with those banks.
He added that the first batch of money, which is 8 billion Liberian dollars, was brought into the country last year in the denomination of L$100 banknotes.
He explained that an amount of 4 billion was used to address the liquidity issue, avoiding people from going to the bank without getting their money.
Kamara said the remaining 4 billion was used to get rid of the mutilated banknotes from the market.
The Central Bank official pointed out that the issue of change coins has been a priority of the CBL and will therefore be out shortly to ease change constraints in financial transactions.
Kamara, therefore, warned citizens not to be carried away by petit money changers who will want to gain profit, but rather be encouraged to get the new money at the same value from the banks.
“It is extremely difficult to counterfeit the new money, and one main security feature is the thread in it. That is when you point the money at the sunlight, the star in it rotates in your eyes,” Kamara added.
It can be recalled that in 2019, President George Weah, wrote the Legislature requesting it to approve the printing of new Liberian banknotes in the tone of L$35 billion.
The money, according to the President, was meant to be infused into the economy.
The President’s communication was sent to the Senate’s Committee on Banking and Currency.
Article 34 ‘D’ of the Liberian Constitution gives the power to the Legislature to levy taxes, duties, imports, excise, and other revenues, borrow money, issue currency, mint coins, and make appropriations for the fiscal governance of the Republic.
The first batch of the new family of Liberian banknotes totaling over four billion came in December 2021.
However, the frequently used denominations of five, ten, 20, and 50 bills have worn out and are mutilated, prompting the CBL to print new bills to address the issue of change shortage that has hit the local market recently.
