Alan Luke: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 17 March 2023:
The opposition National Grand Coalition (NGC) Party are currently discussing strategic alliance with the ruling SLPP ahead of elections in June 2023. However, as we go into these elections, one of the major economic strategies of the Bio government – the redenomination of the Leone, lies in tatters.
The Central Bank Governor – Professor Kelfala Kallon (Photo above) who was tasked with implementing the New Leone has been quietly replaced – or missing in action, without any official statement.
Meanwhile, the transition period for the phasing out of the Leone has been kicked into the long grass until 1st of January 2024, long after the current term of the current administration would have ended.
There is little doubt the redenomination of the Leone has resulted in the collapse of the Leone in the foreign exchange markets, causing hyperinflation as food prices continue to rise sharply, since November 2022 at around 45%.
NGC leaders are pursuing a strategic alliance with the Bio government amid growing concern over the impact that this disastrous monetary policy is having on the NGC support base – the voiceless, the vulnerable, the unemployed, and the youths who can barely make ends meet and are facing hunger.
The question that must be asked is this: What assurance are the NGC leaders providing their constituents in justifying their engagement with the government, aimed at addressing this massive economic downturn that is now crippling the nation? (Photo above: Dr Kandeh Yumkella – NGC leader).
The sacking of the Central Bank Governor, with no official statement from the government as well as the decision to postpone the transition period for the phasing out of the Leone, do not inspire public confidence in the NGC’s engagement with the government on a matter of such major economic importance.
Clearly, “Ar dae tok to President Bio, en ar go continue for tok to President Bio” – is not an effective political strategy. It is not, and will not improve the lives of the poor people of Sierra Leone.
Central Bank statement of the Leone
Dr Kallon was a fierce debater in famous Sierra Leonean online forms, taking no prisoners of the former president, his finance ministers and bank governors. I wish i could hear his quiet reflections on what could be aptly described as a mismatch between rhetoric and reality, academia and industry.
Doing a runner after tanking the Sierra Leone economy and subjecting the national currency to a free-falling trajectory is not stoic our Economics Professor
Two themes seem to be the source of the article : the disappearance of The Central Bank Governor (Kelfala Kallon) and talks between NGC and the Government aimed at a strategic alliance ahead of general elections in June.
Of the two themes only that of Kelfala Kallon Carries less ambiguity. He is no longer Bank Governor; what is not clear is whether he was dismissed or he quite simply abandoned his post. A recent audio message on social media claimed that on the pretext that he had to attend a conference overseas, our Kelfala Kallon left the country and disappeared into thin air.
The strategic alliance talks between NGC and Bio’s administration need more clarity. Is their ultimate aim to bring about a merger, to fight as a single force in the June elections? What happens happens afterwards? Are the talks only tenuous to address the economic woes of the country,with Dr Yomkella’s experience and expertise used to generate a little life into the economy which is on death throes? Questions abound.
Bio must be a worried man. His lieutenants are showing signs nervousness and panic. The Bank Governor has gone missing. Abu Abu, the resident minister in the north is said to have gone underground and resurfaced in Bo. Did he see a shadow in the dark that he didn’t want to face? Former I G Sovula left the country. Did he smell something? Lahai Lawrence Lima was allegedly denied an American visa. Why did he want to leave the country? The nation is in for a treat in the next few weeks . The scene is unfolding.