The coveted US dollar is vanishing due to drop in demand of rubber and other foreign exchange earning commodities but also because suitcases of the greenbacks are taken out of the country, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said Tuesday at a press conference.

She said her government will adopt some measures to mitigate the problem, including the payment of taxes and custom duties in LD now demnded in US dollar. Liberia is the only country within ECOWAS with a dual currency, a policy that has intensified capital flight. A;ong with the fact that sizable number of its officials maintain homes and families in the US, where they pay taxes and not here.

As one possible solution, Liberians and investors here will soon begin payment of taxes and custom duties in Liberian Dollars as a means of mitigating the rise in the exchange rate between the local currency and the United States Dollars, which is said to be on a decline here, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has said.

"We're trying to find means to mitigate this (the rise in exchange rate) by using more Liberian Dollars so that people can go and pay some of their taxes, their custom duties in Liberian Dollars," President Sirleaf said Tuesday.

The Liberian Dollar took a swift nose dive last week, rising from LD66 / 1USD to 70/1USD , with fears of accompanying inflation leading to a hike in the prices of basic commodities.

The prices of other basic commodities have also increased simultaneously, indicating that inflation is on the rise here.

Addressing a press conference Tuesday, President Sirleaf said the US Dollar is on a decline here, does trickling the rise in the exchange rate, adding that the drop in the price of rubber on the global market, has recorded a drop in the flow of the US Dollar from multinational companies such as Firestone. The President further attributed the decline in the inflow of the US Dollar here to a decline in remittances from abraod. She said part of the problem is lack of exchange control.

"The problem is that we have a decline in the availability of US dollars. The price of rubber has dropped seriously so the US Dollars coming from people like Firestone, from export proceeds have declined. Remittances, people sending money here to their relatives, and their friends; to their different causes have also declined sharply so the availability of the US Dollar has been limited and as a result if you are going after something that scares naturally the price goes up. So buying it, the Liberian dollar goes up," she said.

The USD and the LD are both currencies in use here, the President said it is equally possible that anybody can take the US Dollars, pack it in a suitcase and take it out of the country.

The president acknowledged that the country has a problem as it relates to the Liberian Dollar and the US Dollar, but said government was being careful how it handles the situation.

"When we start, we have to settle this thing about, is it going to be a dual currency; should we go to one currency. We don't have enough economic activities yet to say go full US Dollar; we don't have enough to get those foreign exchanges. If we go Liberian Dollars fully, we must be careful we don't chase out the US Dollar and we find ourselves printing money and then you get inflation like you find in so many other countries. Studies are now being done on that. We want to approach it in a very professional way before we take a decision. The IMF is working with us. The Central Bank has done studies but this year we're going to try and make a decision. But whatever decision, we take, let's sure it minimizes the hurt to the economy and the hurt to the Liberian people," she said.