The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) has broken grounds for the construction of its second regional cash hub in Fish Town, River Gee County.
The hub will provide cash management services to commercial bank branches in the southeastern region of the country, including River Gee, Grand Gedeh, Maryland, Grand Kru and Sinoe counties and also the government.
The selection of Fish Town is predicated on its central location in the region, making it accessible to the five counties of the southeast.
The regional cash hub will ensure the availability of liquidity to commercial bank branches and other related financial institutions in the rural parts of the country as well as enhance the CBL’s cash distribution capability in the economy.
At the ground breaking ceremony on Thursday, January 26, 2023, the CBL’s Deputy Governor for Operations, Nyemadi Pearson, said the facility will be used to enhance CBL’s capacity to efficiently manage cash operations.
That will require the movement of cash in the rural parts of the country, while serving as CBL’s replenishment point, including replacement of mutilated banknotes.
The hub will be used to facilitate the provision of services to the government and its agencies, including revenue collection, and salary payments to civil servants, as well as attract commercial banks to the rural areas.
In CBL’s financial services decentralization plan, the Fish Town Hub is one of four facilities earmarked for construction across Liberia.
When completed, it will add to the already nearing-completion cash hub in Voinjama, Lofa County and the now fully-functioning Gbarnga Cash Hub, in Bong County, Central Liberia.
The CBL is cognizant that the construction of these regional hubs across the various regions will lessen the cash transportation burdens of commercial banks as well as attract the expansion of bank branches in leeward counties for the provision of adequate and efficient banking services.
Other investments such as petrol stations, department stores, and merchants will have easy access to their funds at commercial banks due to the proximity of bank branches to the CBL Hub.
Madam Pearson also urged residents of River Gee County and the region at large to take ownership of the project.
“I like to say thank you to the elders and the Superintendent for giving us this land and blessing it,” said Madam Pearson. “Even though we are breaking the ground but it’s your project; you have to help us manage it.”
The Superintendent of River Gee County, Philip Nyenuh, gave assurance that materials intended for the project will be protected to ensure a successful implementation of the construction work.
He thanked the leadership of CBL and the Government of President George M. Weah, Sr. for their farsightedness in constructing a CBL hub in the southeast.
Construction works of the cash hub are expected to commence this month to be completed by third quarter of this year.
