LMDI ends four month nationwide public education and visibility engagement on CBL introduction and infusion of the new one hundred Liberian Dollar Banknote.

LMDI ends four month long nationwide public education and visibility engagement on the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) printing, introduction and infusion of new one hundred Liberian dollar banknotes, the first of a new family of Liberian dollar banknotes and coins with overwhelming calls by people across the country for the CBL and partners to prioritize the lower denominations to ease the prevailing money shortage in the country.

CBL Poster

At public forums across all 15 counties of Liberia held under “THE DIALOGUE”, the People to People interactive engagement platform of the LMDI, people in all 15 counties of Liberia cried out that there is grim shortage of money on the Liberian market due to the massive mutilation of the lower denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 of the old two sets of Liberian dollar banknotes on the market.

The people especially rural dwellers complained that the shortage and absence of the lower denominations of the Liberian dollar banknotes is increasingly leading to the hiking of the prices on the Liberian market and creating hardship for them.

Platform Guests

The people also dubbed the current change of the Liberian banknotes by the Central Bank of Liberia as slow rather than swift and inadequate for what they called the dire situation that the Liberian economy and monetary system are in now.

Amidst their apparent concern, the people hailed and welcomed the general currency reform and banknotes change regime as good, noting that a change of the old banknotes had become necessary because of the presence of two different sets of banknotes on the market and the confusion that the notes have created.

On other fronts, people across Liberia called for measures to control and ensure the proper handling of the Liberian dollar banknotes, noting that poor handling of banknotes in Liberia has led to the massive mutilation of Liberian and foreign banknotes usable on the Liberian market.

The people called for punitive actions against abusers of banknotes, but were quick to overwhelmingly call for lower denominations of the Liberian currency to be coins, since such denominations are the most used by the general population, hence easily mutilated.

At the Central Bank of Liberia, there is acknowledgement of the effect that the mutilation of a huge quantity of Liberian currency/banknotes, especially of the lower denominations and the authorities have promised to fast track the printing and minting of the lower denominations to address their shortage on the Liberian market. The Bank authorities now say they will act sooner than planned to address the concerns of the majority of the people especially within the countryside of Liberia.

The LMDI four month long public engagement and education campaign was supported by the United States for International Development (USAID) for the Central Bank of Liberia with the aim to provide urgently needed massive public education and visibility for printing, introduction and infusion of fast and second batches of the One Hundred Liberian dollar Banknotes.

During the campaign, the LMDI directly encountered and held 38 public forums at 38 towns and cities with 3,751 people; 2,010 women and 1,741 men, totaling 3, 751 people.

With the initial public education and visibility campaign completed, the people are now watching out for further public education on the proceeding printing, minting, introduction and infusion of the other expected denominations of the new family of Liberian dollar banknotes and coins for Liberia.

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