“The Central Bank of Liberia has announced that it is taking measures in keeping with its statutory mandate to ensure that adequate Liberian Dollars are provided to the population through the commercial banks in the country.
“The CBL is currently infusing liquidity in the Commercial Banks to address the shortage, but says it will be done gradually so as to maintain a low inflation volatility aimed at protecting the purchasing power of ordinary citizens.
“In a Statement Monday issued through the Ministry of Information Cultural Affairs and Tourism, the bank said the current restrictive operational autonomy granted it under the CBL Act constrains the bank from taking measures to effectively address the increasing demands of Liberian Dollar Liquidity.
“We had requested the printing of 7.5-billion Liberian Dollars in 2019, but the legislature only approved 4-billion at the time. This means with increasing demands from several factors to include economic and population effects, dollarization, mutilation and economic precautions the need now for the printing of more liquidity cannot be overemphasized” the bank asserted.
“Of the 4-billion Liberian Dollars printed in 500-Bills, only 50-percent-meaning half of the 4-billion printed has been infused in the market which represents the ratio of about 1-to-10 of new to old banknotes in circulation”, the bank said.
“The CBL attributed the current Liberian Dollar liquidity problem to several factors including the effects of COVID-19 on the economy, but said it has begun working with various stakeholders including the International Monetary Fund, the National Legislature and other players to find a lasting solution.
“The Central Bank renewed its appeal to the public to focus on using other mediums of payments, like mobile money and POS to carry out daily financial transactions the burden of having direct access to liquidity,” a press statement issued by MICAT said.