Sierra Leone: Government launches re-denominated currency

By: Baillor Jalloh

On Friday 1st July, 2022, the new re-denominated leone was officially unveiled by His Excellency Dr Julius Maada Bio. The event was witnessed by top Business Managers, Unions, Interreligious Council, the World Bank and all Banking Institutions in the Country.

The bank of Sierra Leone has removed three zeros from bank notes but keeping their value unchanged. At the launch president Bio said “It is ‘new money, same value. New notes, same value. The value of your pension, your debts, your rent and your salary remains the same.”

The government has argued the new notes will make it easier to carry cash and use it for payments. But the country’s main opposition, the All peoples Congress are not convinced. According to the APC the re-denomination was “confusing and added no value.” A trader on the street who is also sceptical about the new notes said: “The currency re-denomination can be very damaging to the Sierra Leone economy, especially if not managed well.”

Since early January the leone has been falling against the US dollar and this comes amid efforts to strengthen the currency and reduce the economic hardship facing the country due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Like many any other countries in Africa, Sierra Leone’s economy depends heavily on the import of food and other essentials which keeps the country moving.

Ko-Fewndii Show/ African Voices Platform