232news –
By Thomas Dixon
The controversial Bank Governor of the central bank of Sierra Leone, Professor Kelfala Kallon has explained on a local radio station that Sierra Leone has what he described as a “legacy problem.”
He stated that out of $900M worth of minerals exported, only $27M was paid to the government as royalties in 2022, noting that the mining laws say that the government should get 3% from mining companies as royalties.
The Bank Governor stated that he was not forced to go on leave but that he was due 42 working days for leave and that he decided to take a long leave before his term ends in October this year.
He stated that the Bank still functions whether he is away or not, noting that he never disappeared.
He described the current state of the country’s economy as very challenging like all other countries in the world because according to him, this is the worse economic situation they are facing in the world since the great depression.
He noted that they have done well, owing to the resources they spent that they did not have to deal with the situation.
He explained that the foreign exchange regime is not determined by the central but by the Ministry of Finance and the market forces.
He said that what they are exporting for a long time, they are getting little from it.
He explained that to cushion the effect of the global economy on the prices of goods and other essential commodities, the Bank spent over $450M, pointing out that it is the world market that determines the prices of commodities.
He revealed that government expends more than what it generates because they have employed more nurses, teachers and they also support the poor of the poor in the social scheme.
