The Bank of Sierra Leone has assured the general public through a press release that the Standard Chartered Bank (SL) Ltd is safe and sound; and there is no cause for concern. Below is the press release for perusal
PRESS RELEASE
On Thursday 14 April 2022, Standard Chartered Bank Group announced that it will be exiting seven (7) countries in Africa and the Middle East. Sierra Leone is one of those countries. In this regard, the Bank of Sierra Leone hereby assures the public that Standard Chartered Bank (SL) Ltd is safe and sound; and there is no cause for concern. There shall be an orderly transition to a new ownership, in accordance with the provisions of the Bank of Sierra Leone Act 2019, the Banking Act 2019 and the Revised Prudential Guidelines for Commercial Banks, 2012. Standard Chartered Bank (SL) Ltd has also committed to provide updates on the said transition. The public is further assured that the transition will not affect depositors’ funds. Customers are advised to continue their normal banking relationship with Standard Chartered Bank (SL) Ltd which will operate as usual during the transition. The Bank of Sierra Leone shall continue to provide the necessary statutory and regulatory oversight.
MOF Procurement directorate on new reforms
The Directorate of Procurement at the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday 13th April, 2022 updated Procurement Officers across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on new reforms undertaken by the Ministry in line with the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act, contract management and issues of Redenomination of the Leones to procurement.
In his opening statement, Acting Deputy Director of the Directorate, Michael Lahai Swarray, welcomed the Procurement Officers at the meeting, noting that the Directorate is impressed with the turn-up given the time the information was released from the Directorate.
He furthered that as Procurement Officers in the MDAs, their role is very key in the implementation of activities in their respective MDAs.
Mr. Swarray also highlighted the issue of welfare as one of the issues as well as others bordering on the effective and efficient delivery of their duties.
In his statement, Director of the Directorate, Fodie Konneh, said currently there are ongoing Public Financial Management Reforms which procurement practitioners need to know about, adding that the Ministry of Finance has agreed that going forward, all MDAs will receive their quarterly allocations on time and execute their activities through their Ministries. He furthered that going forward, allocation processing will be done at the Ministry level and therefore, procurement activities will also be done at the Ministriy level except for procurement meant for Capital Development and that all Procurement Plans will remain the same.
In that regard, Director Konneh called on Procurement Officers to bring to the attention of the Directorate any challenges or difficulties they face at their respective postings.
He reminded them of their duty in the management of state resources. “If a Vote Controller spends money that is not in line with the Procurement Act, the Procurement Officer should resist such act as you are still accountable to Audit and ACC,” Director Konneh.
On the issue of redenomination of the currency, the Director said the existing contract that will be rolling over will be affected. He therefore urged practitioners to be mindful of the fact that three zeros will be knocked off the new currency, stating that after the implementation of the redenomination of the Leones, Procurement Officers should re-value the contract to meet the new Leones.
Procurement Officers at the meeting expressed appreciation to the Directorate for such an educative engagement and requested more engagements, capacity building and improved terms and conditions of service amongst others.
