MONROVIA-The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) has made clearly known its position, focus and goal in the execution of its core responsibilities in keeping with the Act establishing it, vowing to be more open, transparent and connected to the public in the dissemination of its policies in way that ensures and provides better and clearer understanding to the public.
Deputy Governor for Economic Policy, Dr. Musa Dukuly in a statement at the opening of a one-day communication training on monetary policy, underscored the CBL’s commitment to fostering an environment of transparency, while at the same time promoting dialogue and openness.
The one-day knowledge-gathering training sought to provide understanding to media practitioners to be able to interpret monetary policy and improve public communication.
“We want to build bridges, not walls between policymakers and the press,” Dr. Dukuly emphasized, saying also that the event is a beginning of a longtime partnership between CBL and the press.
“Let this be a beginning of a deeper, more informed partnership to enhance the effectiveness economic journalism in Liberia,” Dr. Dukuly advanced, and added that “Liberia needs a financially literate citizenry” which is achievable “when the media is equipped to report accurately, thoughtfully, and with integrity.”
CBL, he said, is of the belief that informed journalism is essential to economic development, disclosing that monetary policy affects every Liberian from “the price of food to job opportunities.”
Apparently realizing the importance of media in the fair and balanced propagation of government’s economic policy, Dr. Dukuly sees the media role as not just reporting news, but strategically shaping how citizens understand the economy and how they respond to changes in the monetary and fiscal policy.
“The media, without question, is one of the most influential actions in a functioning democracy,” the CBL Deputy Governor indicated. “And in a fragile economy like ours, your influence becomes even more pronounced,” he went stated further.
According to him, monetary policy is not as simple as it may be seen or thought of, but can be complex, even for economist. “Yet its impacts are real and far-reaching, influencing inflation, interest rates, exchange rates and overall economic stability,” Dr. Dukuly said.
He cited instances in the West African region where economic reporting without the facts misled the public.
In Ghana, he dlsclosed that a misreporting of the Bank of Ghana’s foreign reserve position in 2022 created “unnecessary speculation in the FX market,” thus contributing to “volatility in the cedi” before corrective clarifications were made.
Nigeria, another West African economic power, he said suffered similar trend due to misreporting in 2021.
Similar situation, he said, affected Kenya when a widely circulated but inaccurate report on the government’s debt repayment capacity in 2023 undermined investor confidence.
The situation was reversed when the country’s Central Bank and the Finance Ministry issued clarifications, Dr. Dukuly stated.
These facts, according to Dr. Dukuly, made it essential for the CBL to engage with the media and provide them with the tools needed to better report on the economic issues, mainly monetary policy, which is the CBL’s main responsibility.
The training focus on key thematic areas including monetary policy operations, definition of key terms and application on inflation, policy rates, Reserved requirements, money supply and basis point.
Other areas include ‘the impact of global economic factors on local economy, monetary policy implementation through the financial markets and monetary policy communication.’
Alphonso Toweh
Has been in the profession for over twenty years. He has worked for many international media outlets including: West Africa Magazine, Africa Week Magazine, African Observer and did occasional reporting for CNN, BBC World Service, Sunday Times, NPR, Radio Deutchewells, Radio Netherlands. He is the current correspondent for Reuters
He holds first MA with honors in International Relations and a candidate for second master in International Peace studies and Conflict Resolution from the University of Liberia.
