The difficult and harsh conditions of life people in Sierra Leone have been contending with have further exacerbated in recent days and weeks, after the exchange rate of the country’s legal tender the Leone has drastically depreciated against major trading and international currencies of the world.
Currently the Leone stands at a ratio of 17: 1 with the United States Dollar, which is 17 Leones to 1 US dollar, hence a hundred dollar is now bought at Le17,000 (New Leone) or Le1,700,000 (the Old Leones). As a result the purchasing power of the Leone has reduced tremendously leading to rapid inflation in the country, or a persistent rise in the price level of goods and services in the country.
As we go to press, the masses of people in Sierra Leone are finding it extremely difficult to meet the rising cost of living that has been fueled by the new wave of the accelerating exchange rate of the dollar to the Leone.
Since Sierra Leone is highly dependent on imported goods or commodities such as rice (our staple food), sugar, onion, butter, oil and other essential foodstuffs, as well as cement, iron rod and other building materials, the nation is doomed to skyrocketing price rise whenever the country’s legal tender the LEONE undergoes rapid depreciation against major trading and international currencies such as Dollar, Euro and Pound Sterling.
Furthermore the spillover effects of this rise in prices of foodstuffs and other essential commodities are always enormous and daunting that all other sectors of life in the nation are gravely affected. Cost of transportation, housing and other essential services in the country are further hit hard by such happenings and currency trends.
And as food items like rice, butter, egg, and oil continue to increase in prices by day as the Leone depreciates also by day to major trading currencies, the people continue to face serious hardship and unpleasant conditions that become unbearable over time. Presently the people, especially the poor masses, are lamenting the current deteriorating economic conditions in the country, saying the deplorable situation of the country is moving from the frying pan to the fire.
Thomas Bangura, a father of three children, says: “I can’t really understand how this government is running our economy. The economy of our country is everyday going from bad to worse. Now almost every essential foodstuff is rising in price rapidly. Whenever you go to the market or the shop to buy something, you meet a new inflated price. Butter is now 17 Leones from the 15 Leones I bought a packet of it two days ago. Egg that I used to buy at 55 Leones has gone to 70 Leones in less than a week! What is happening with our economy? This situation is seriously affecting us as family people and breadwinners.”
Mariama Jalloh, a trader, says: “Everything has gone up in the last three weeks: a bag of rice, butter, oil, egg and other essential food items. This is because the dollar is going up rapidly against the Leone. Now 100 dollars is one million, seven hundred thousand Leones [Old Leone]. So the importers have to fix new prices for their imported goods any time they bring in new items or goods into the country. So they too have to sell a bit higher to regain their money and to be able to buy the dollar that they use to import more consignments.”
Momoh Kallon, a student, says: “In Sierra Leone we just cannot stop experiencing these kinds of harsh situations under a government like this. The government or administration of Maada Bio is full of failures and setbacks. A year or so ago it was COVID-19; few months ago it was Russia-Ukraine war, and now it is the exchange rate of the dollar, which is causing the skyrocketing prices of goods and services in the country. When will things be better for this country we call Sierra Leone? For me, our present Bank Governor is a failure. He cannot control this economy. President Bio must think about a replacement for him; that is if the President himself is not replaced after June 2023 elections.”
The present harsh economic conditions the people are undergoing have left everyone baffled over what is happening around the skyrocketing prices of goods and services in the country. Forum is also of the view that the Bank Governor seems not to be catching up with the realities on the ground. His logics and solutions as well to fighting the dollar-induced inflation in the country aren’t working. The last time he auctioned some foreign currencies by dishing out about USD500 million to cushion the escalating exchange rate of the dollar against the Leone and that went down the drain with no lasting solution. He has been reported to wanting to do the same again. But would that work or effectively arrest the tide of the dollar-induced inflation in the country?
It is essential to note that the negative economic realities of the society have gone so bad that today there is so much cry in the heart and eyes of Sierra Leoneans as regards the current dire straits of the national economy, which has rendered the country and the people in a state of sixes and sevens. And with the runaway inflation terrorizing the economy of the country, more suffering, hardship and poverty continue to be the portion of the people under the current state of affairs.
Inflation, which is merely a persistent rise in the price level of goods and services, needs effective management from the relevant state authorities such as the Bank Governor, the Finance and Economic Affairs minister, the Trade and Industry minister among others. Inflation, therefore, should be managed so effective and well that it is prevented from going galloping or runaway.
By and large, economic management requires effective and efficient managers who are prudent and genuine in serving the nation, using transformative and carefully selective actions or steps to build the economy, which is largely lacking in Sierra Leone.
Forum therefore upholds the conclusion that Sierra Leone deserves better economic managers to salvage the country’s economy and place its economic infrastructure on a progressive pathway of national development.
