-Over local currency concerns
The plenary of the Liberian Senate has cited authorities of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) to provide an update regarding the status of the old Liberian dollar banknotes.
The Liberian Senate's decision Thursday, 8 June 2023, followed Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon's motion seeking the appearance of the CBL authorities.
The Senate ordered CBL to appear before its committee of a whole next week Tuesday, 13 June 2023.
The CBL is cited to comment on the current exchange rate and the status of the new Liberian banknotes and to state the timeframe it has to get rid of the legacy notes from the market.
The Senate is concerned about a huge sum of the new money that was printed and brought into the country and is being used alongside the legacy note.
In his motion, Senator Dillon said the exchange rate is increasing daily, making life for citizens and business people unbearable.
According to him, when the CBL appears before them, they will get a deeper understanding about the economic situation the country is faced with, terming the inflation in exchange rate as scary.
Also speaking, Grand Cape Mount County Senator Varney Sherman recounted that there has always been a timeframe given to the citizens by the Central Bank of Liberia to replace the legacy notes.
"The country is still seeing and using both the old and new Liberian bank notes on the market," Senator Sherman said.
The exchange rate in some areas across Monrovia is at LRD 177, 178, or 180 to US$1.00.
The unstable exchange rate across Monrovia appears to affect local business owners and buyers.