By Sulaiman Jalloh
Dr. Ibrahim Stevens, the Bank Governor of Bank of Sierra Leone disclosed that the central bank has collected about eighty-five percent (85%) of the Old Leone that was out of the bank, noting there is still about fifteen percent (15%) of the old money to be collected. He there urged citizens who still have the old Leone to take it to the bank, adding there is still time until end of March this year for people to exchange the old Leone to the new Leone at the central bank or any commercial bank across the country without any charges or being forced to open an account for the transaction.
He added that people with the said notes only needs to present identification to the bank staffs.
According to the Bank Governor, even after the deadline [31st March 2024] for exchanging the old Leone to new Leone, the Bank of Sierra Leone and designated agents will continue to collect the old money and exchange it for the new one.
“We still have time until the end of March you can go to any bank anywhere. They are not supposed to charge you anything and they are not supposed to ask you to open a bank account with them. Just get your identification to prove you are the one who brings the money and they will accept it from you,” Dr. Stevens assured, adding that his institution has been a good example in Sierra Leone in the way they have been managing the transition process. Additionally, he said, prior to the transition period, they had already engaged the bank in making they have enough stock and space before he made the announcement last year November.
He reiterated that, after April 2024, people with the remaining old Leone can still take it to the Bank of Sierra Leone.
Speaking on abbreviation, he said the authorized abbreviation to be used is the ‘NLe’, noting according to the consequential regulation for the denomination was the ‘NLe’, adding the international code is that the banks use for international transaction is ‘SLE’. He said the ‘Le’ will be there for historical and accounting purposes, adding they have drafted an amendment and it is now at cabinet level for subsequent presentation to Parliament and parliament will still retain the old Le just for historical and accounting records, because according to him, it has been in use since 1964 to 31st December 2023.
The Bank Governor was speaking on Tuesday, February 20th, 2023 during the Ministry of Information and Civic Education’s weekly press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign affairs and International Cooperation conference hall.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Friday, February 23rd, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
