By Janet Sam-kobba
Sierra Leone’s president, Julius Maada Bio has hailed the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) for its efforts in realizing rapid decrease in inflation in the country over the last few months, and urged for more efforts to take it further down.
Bio told bankers at a banquet organized to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Bank of Sierra Leone that the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, political and security instability in Eastern Europe and the Middle East brought about many challenges for the country’s economy, noting that the bank strived to maneuver through the difficulties to ensure availability of essential goods and services to citizens.
“In fact, inflation has been on a steady decline since its peak in October last year, from 54.59 percent to 40.69 percent in March 2024, 35.84 percent in May 2024 and 31.93 percent in June 2024, instilling a sense of optimism and hope for the future among our citizens and stakeholders” Bio said at the event convened at the Freetown International Conference Center in Aberdeen.
The President however urged the Bank to intensify its efforts and reduce inflation below 20 percent by the end of the year.
“I therefore charge the leadership of the bank with a tall order – double your efforts and bring inflation down to the low 20s by the end of the year 2024 and to single digits over the medium term,” president Bio said.
Many Sierra Leoneans have been faced with the challenge of meeting their basic needs, thanks to rapid inflation which has seen prices of goods in the market go up. This situation has been partly blamed for several unrests in the last few years, including violent protests in Freetown and some other parts of the country.
A report by the Think Tank, Institute for Governance Reform (IGR) published last month highlighted the economic impact these social unrests had on the country in the last three years. According to the report, Sierra Leone lost USD417million.
The BSL’s 60th anniversary celebration was held on the theme: ‘Repositioning the Bank of Sierra Leone to better deliver on its mandate.’
Governor of the Bank, Dr. Ibrahim Stevens attributed the bank’s successes to key legislative reforms, including the Bank of Sierra Leone act 2023, the currency redenomination, the materialization of five commercial banks, as well as the development of a macro financial system.
Dr. Stevens also spoke on the bank’s plan from 2024-2028 to deliver on its mandates, driving its vision of having a stronger and better economy.
“We are committed to delivering on our mandate and driving the economic growth of our nation,” he said.
Janet Sam-Kobba is an intern at ManoReporters and she is a final year student at the Mass Communication Department at Central University in Mile 91.
