Sierra Leone is dropping the last three zeroes from its currency, the leone and according to their central bank, the new currency will be valued at about 10 to the US dollar.
The leone has been falling since austerity measures were introduced in 2017. The country introduced austerity measures in the 2017 budget, and moved towards a more restrictive trade regime by introducing new tariffs.
The new measure was put in place by the government to see the reduction in government’s spending.
In 2013, the country had one of the fastest growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa as a result of iron ore boom. However, the twin shocks of Ebola and the fall in commodity prices on the international market, had a negative blow on the country’s economy.
With mining companies and the government in a long-running battle, the Covid-19 pandemic has made things worse.
The central bank governor, Prof Kelfala Kallon, said the move would make it easier for people who had to go around carrying “a whole amount cash to just do something very simple”.
He told reporters that people had been putting themselves at risk with thieves “lurking around [banks] to see who is coming out with a big sack and then they follow them”.
The governor said the re-denomination would also give a “psychological boost” for Sierra Leoneans.
No date has been give for when exactly the new leone, as it’ll be called, will be introduced