I want to take this opportunity to thank all who have reached out to congratulate me on my nomination as Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone. Given the enormity of the task ahead (of shepherding monetary policy and defending and stabilizing the Leone without any international reserves to work with), I have wondered whether I should be pitied instead of congratulated. However, with Allah’s divine guidance and the support of the people of Sierra Leone, if confirmed by Parliament, I intend to use everything at my disposal to reverse the fortunes of the Leone in the shortest possible time.
Let me boldly state here for the record that the current speculative attack on the Leone by those who unconscionably ran our country and economy into the ground will not stand for long. However, just as no army has ever won a war without ammunition, no central banker can successfully defend a currency against the sort of speculative attack to which the Leone has been subjected during the past four months without international reserves. It is therefore absolutely critical that those who made the Bank’s vault their personal vault be forced to cough up every penny they stole from the people of Sierra Leone. To make this happen, we (Sierra Leoneans) must unflinchingly support the Commission of Enquiry and the Anti-Corruption Commission as they probe the corruption that brought us to the current crisis. When those who have fleeced the country for over a decade are ordered to pay back in Leones, they will be forced to sell the foreign currencies into which they are currently converting their ill-gotten bricks of Leones to buy back Leones to pay those judgments. The consequent increase in the demand for Leones would start its eventual appreciation. Moreover, the recovery of the stolen loot would provide the Bank with the foreign exchange necessary for an effective defence of the Leone against future speculation.
Again, thank you for your congratulatory messages and support.
Eid Mubarak! May God bless Sierra Leone!
We wish you all the best and may our stolen monies find their way back to the Central Bank. It’s a very tough task that you’ve accepted but I’m confident that you will surely make the difference.