The Central Bank of Liberia has set May 15, 2024, as the expiration date for the old Liberian Dollar banknotes, SL1 and SL2, printed during the administrations of former Presidents Charles G. Taylor and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
In preparation for this deadline, awareness campaigns have been intensified in four southeastern counties: Maryland, River Gee, Grand Kru, and Grand Gedeh. However, there has been confusion among citizens in these counties regarding which banknotes are affected and why they are still in circulation despite ongoing efforts to withdraw them from the economy.
According to CBL Communications Consultant Cyrus Badio, the awareness campaign aims to remind Liberians of the May 15 deadline, after which the old banknotes will no longer be legal tender.
The Central Bank's board of governors granted the extension of the withdrawal period from March 31 in response to citizens' requests for more time due to various factors, including the 2023 elections and poor road infrastructure in the southeast.
Badio told this reporter in a recent interview in Harper, Maryland County that the main visual difference between the old and new banknotes is the absence of a ring around the president's head on the old notes. He emphasized that until the expiration date, the old banknotes remain legal tender, and individuals should not reject them.
Badio advised citizens to exchange their old banknotes for new ones at banks or designated exchange points before the deadline. For residents in remote areas where banks are scarce, Badio suggested utilizing village savings clubs, marketing associations, or central bank hubs for the exchange of old banknotes.
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After May 15, the old banknotes will only be accepted by the Central Bank and its regional hubs, not commercial banks.
The current awareness campaign involves various methods, including jingles, flyers, spot messages, community radio stations, and local town criers to ensure broad dissemination of information.
"We will succeed in our awareness campaign because we are working with the appropriate people, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), and the Liberia Marketing Association (LMA). This is in contrast to the previous one that ended on March 31, 2024," Badio said. "There are a lot of jingles, flyers, and spot messages being created to enhance the process. As I speak now, there are people in the rural parts of the southeast using megaphones to send out the messages in both English and the local vernaculars so that message can get to the people there."
"This time around the community, radio stations are fully involved in spreading the messages. The radio plays a vital role in this process because where human beings can't reach the radio can reach the message there."
The Central Bank's partners, such as Afrikland Bank, are supporting the infusion of new banknotes into the economy and the withdrawal of the old SL1 and SL2 banknotes. While L$24 billion worth of old banknotes were circulated, the Central Bank has so far collected over L$4 billion during the exchange process. Failure to accept the old banknotes before the May 15 deadline may result in legal consequences as outlined by the Central Bank.
