Abstract

On Wednesday11th August 2021, the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) through its governor issued its proposal to redenominate the Leone (Le) by dropping three zeros from the currency and issuing more coin denominations with a view to ensuring macroeconomic stability, increase credibility of the Le and efficient payment system. The announcement took many by surprise and posed a lot of debate among Sierra Leoneans and non-Sierra Leoneans within and outside the country. While some are of the view that the BSL deserves commendation for the bold step, others are condemning the entire proposal base on political views. This paper tries to look at the implications of the proposed Le redenomination scheme in the light of its objectives, by issuing 115 Questionnaires to people who have vast knowledge on currency redenomination. Data collected was analysed using direct percentage method. It is observed that the BSL can use redenomination to reduce inflation and to add value to the Le which will boost economic growth, but majority of our respondents believe that the Le redenomination policy is based on political grounds. The paper recommends therefore that the policy be implemented and the BSL should adopt other economic recovery measures to help boost economic growth and the bank governor and his staff should act apolitical if the goal for redenominating the Le is to fight inflation and boost economic growth.