As the Government introduces new financial measures and monitoring mechanisms to discourage the blackmarketing of foreign currencies, the Government through the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) has successfully ensured the steady teady drop of the United States Dollar against the Leone.

Though the prices of basic commodities are escalating in the country day in day out, citizens will be surprised to learn that the rate of US$100 has reduced from Le4, 450 to Le2,000 in the last two weeks and traders are very mute about it because they want to exploit the gullible public.

According to a concerned Sierra Leonean, Mohamed Sillah, the Government through the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) needs to inform the general public about such positive development so that they will hold traders responsible for not reducing their prices according to how the dollar is falling on a daily basis in the last two weeks.

Mohamed Sillah accused traders of being responsible for the astronomical increase in the prices of basic commodities in the country despite Government’s efforts to stabilize and strengthen the national economy.

He suggested that the Ministry of Trade and Industry should start monitoring the prices of basic commodities to ensure they are priced according to how the Leone is gaining credence in the face of the steady fall of the US Dollar.

A senior banker that asked for anonymity maintained that the efforts of the Acting Bank Governor, Dr. Ibrahim Stevens in stabilizing the Leone should be amplified by the Ministries of Trade and Information for the general public to actually understand about the current economic situation of the country.

The senior banker lamented that it is quite disheartening that while the US Dollar has drastically reduced from Le4, 450 to Le2, 100, prices of basic commodities continue to escalate without Government’s intervention.

The senior banker therefore appealed to the Government to intervene to stop the unnecessary exploitation of Sierra Leoneans by businesspeople who are very insensitive to the plight of penury Sierra Leoneans.

A youth activist, Moses Lansana, opined that if businesspeople continue to raise the prices of basic commodities while the US Dollar continues to depreciate against the Leone, they will state a nationwide demonstration against businesspeople in the country, noting that the Government has to caution them to stop exploiting the general public.

A senior government official in the Ministry of Finance, who asked for anonymity, assured that the US Dollar will continue to fall with Government’s commitment to prudent macroeconomic management and the opening of space for more direct foreign investment in the country that will bring more foreign earnings and job opportunities.

“It is only out of wickedness that businesspeople are charging for basic commodities exorbitantly because the exchange rate for the dollar has dropped by over 50%,” the senior banker concluded.