Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. After getting himself into serious hot water for saying that the Bank of Sierra Leone had used $68 million in bribing businesses and individuals in order to stabilise the country’s currency – the Leone, now he says he used the word bribery figuratively as an economics professor, to describe his what he said is similar to consumers paying more for a product so as to get producers to supply more of the product.
But his explanation does not seem to chime with his fellow economists, who say they are baffled at such a simplistic and faulty analogy as a Banker and a professor of economics that cannot be found in any economics textbook.
Many Sierra Leoneans believe that his use of the term bribery as announced openly in parliament this week, was a serious gaff and lack of communication skills; and what the Governor should be doing instead of trying strenously and unconvincingly to justify his use of the term Bribery in this context, is to simply apologise for his mistake and move on.
There is no justification in economics textbooks for the use of the word Bribery to desctribe any legitimate economic transaction. You got this one wrong professor Kallon.
The Governor’s inability to accept his mistake, smacks of gross arrogance, incompetence and dishonesty which many would find troubling for a Governor of the country’s central bank.
So, what exactly did the Bank Governor say to MPs this week that has attracted such condemnation and lampooning?
This is what he told members of parliament that got the financial market spinning this week: “We wasted $68 million to bribe people who were hoarding Leones to bring it into the banking system. I asked myself: we have worked so hard during the past two years to build a reserve for this country. Is it going to be sustainable for us to keep bribing people to take Leones, and when we bribe them, they bring the Leones, then they take it back; then we have to bribe them again.’’
You can watch this video of the Bank Governor trying to justify his use of the word bribery in the context in which it was used:
The Bank of Sierra Leone also issued a public statement yesterday, accusing social media commentators and newspapers of twisting what the Governor said: This is what the statement says:
“The attention of the Bank of Sierra Leone (the Bank) has been drawn to a mischaracterisation of a statement the Governor made in Parliament by some newspapers and a video clip circulating on social media, both deliberately and maliciously misconstruing the said statement. In view of the above, the Bank makes the following clarifications:
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