Centeral Bank of Liberia says Liberia’s single digit inflation rate is among the lowest in the subregion.
By Lincoln G. Peters
Monrovia, Liberia, February 3, 2025 – The Central Bank of Liberia says that despite current upward movement in the exchange rate, Liberia’s single-digit inflation rate is among the lowest in the sub-region.
Addressing graduates of the Banking Institute of Liberia on behalf of Central Bank of Liberia Executive Governor-designate Henry Saamoi, the Technical Advisor to the Governor, Musa Kamara, said they are working to address inflation and move Liberia to a cashless transaction economy.
“Despite the current upward movement in the exchange rate, our inflation rate remains in a single digit among the lowest in the Sub-region. This is a remarkable milestone achievement that we must all celebrate. Our financial system remains strong as evidenced by key indicators, such as capital adequacy, liquidity, and loan to deposit”, Mr. Kamara explains.
He expresses appreciation and excitement to the BIL for continuing to educate and strengthen individuals in the banking and financial sector while assuring the CBL’s commitment to aiding the Banking Institute to enable Liberians to take over the banking and financial sector, adding that they have seen a lot of foreign banks coming in the country with foreign staff.
“So, when we saw that, we knew it was never the future we needed. So, we created the BIL to train individuals who would take over the banking and financial sector’s administrative and managerial components. I am excited to see this moving to a greater height with Liberia and trained to take over the sector with integrity and professionalism.”
The Banking Institute of Liberia, which is the training arm of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) and the Liberia Banker Association (LBA), through its Professional Development training program and Business Enterprise Development initiative over the weekend graduated 156 professionals in the banking and financial sector to improve effective, efficient and quality service delivery in the Liberian economy.
The graduation ceremony, held at the Monrovia Christian Fellowship Church on Saturday, January 31, 2025, brought together financial experts from the Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Liberia, professional private financial experts and graduates, and family members.
BIL provides two types of career development courses, including a professional development training program and a business development program that aims to upgrade the professional skills of financial stakeholders in the banking, finance, and development sectors and provide necessary knowledge for people wishing to enter the sectors.
They provide cutting-edge training and support to improve the managerial and administrative professional competence of staffers in the banking and financial sector, including banking and financial services in the country.
Following approximately eight months of intensive training, the graduates received diplomas in banking and finance, internal audit and controls, procurement and supply chain management, monitoring and evaluation, marketing management, digital banking and marketing, compliance and corporate risk management, human resource and customer relationship management, office administration and organization management, public accounting, and finance, work planning and report writing and computerized accounting.
The Executive Director of BIL, Professor Richard S. Panton, says the graduation brings the second training circle to an end, and they are excited to graduate one hundred and fifty-six successful candidates in the banking and financial sector.
According to him, the BIL enterprise program is intended to strengthen and build the capacity of those who also have an interest in working in the financial and banking sectors and other sectors of the economy while urging graduates to demonstrate integrity, maintain professionalism and, effective and efficient customer service delivery respectively.
He urges that given the youthful population of Liberia, it’s important that the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Education, introduce life-skill education to defeat poverty and eliminate youth unemployment.
“Today is yet another day to thank God for achieving another milestone. We want to extend our profound appreciation to the Central Bank of Liberia and the Liberia Banker Association for their continued support of the institution’s work. This support is a driven manifestation to build capacity to improve performance, render effective and efficient service in the banking and financial sector of the Liberian economy”, Professor Panton notes. Editing by Jonathan Browne
