By Hassan I. Conteh

A famous business man and philanthropist says he is doubting why dollar notes are more in the hands of money dealers in Sierra Leone.

Alhaji Alpha Tanue Jalloh told Africa24 that dollars are in plenty circulation in the hands of dealers than in the banks.

“This is the only country you will see more dollars on the streets than in the banks, why is that so?” Mr Jalloh expresses doubt on the situation.

The business man said Sierra Leone is different from other countries in the subregion.

“You don’t see that happening in Guinea, close to us here, neither do you get to see that in other African countries,’’ he added.

Mr Jalloh is proprietor of Tanue International, a logistics company, and general co-ordinator of Indigenous Business Association (IBA) based in Freetown.

He believes that there are more reasons that account for business people avoid buying the foreign currency in the banks.

The US dollar is needed mostly by business people in Sierra Leone who travel to other African countries, Europe, America and Asia to buy goods from there.

And because of this, it is controlling the domestic legal tender, the Leone, making it rapidly declining in value.

The Leone has been free-floating behind the US dollars since 2015-16 when iron ore sales fell in the global market which saw the decline in the operation of African minerals and London mining companies in Sierra Leone.

Now, $ 100 dollar is exchanged at around Le 2,200, and the amount is expected to rise in the coming months.

The dollar dealers in the capital have predicted $ 100 might soon hit Le 3,000.

By end of May and early week of June this year, $100 stood at Le 2,300, it shows instability of the domestic currency devalued by the US legal tender.

And that seriously worries those doing businesses in Sierra Leone.

A business woman who regularly travels to Conakry, Guinea, has said they are buying the dollar in exorbitant price in their home country, Sierra Leone, to buy goods in Conakry.

“We are always affected whenever the foreign exchange rate hikes up,” she complained.

The dollar is mostly traded on the main business streets of the capital Freetown.

It is often in huge possession by black market dealers who largely influence the economy of Sierra Leone, according to IBA’s general coordinator.

“Normally, people go to black market dealers to buy the dollar because they don’t want to go through central bank hurdles,’’ the business man said.

To discourage the black market dollar sale, the central bank, had in the past few years, set up a taskforce to remove the guys, government thought, were ‘illegally’ selling the dollars on the streets.

But the ban never holds on the ground as dealers continue to sell the US notes on the streets of Freetown.

And there are more people who are keeping the dollar in huge quantity either to buy business or wait to re-sell it when it is in short supply, and becomes expensive in the market.

Also, since Sierra Leone’s export is low, the US dollar continues to rise unstoppably in the country, causing prices on local foodstuffs to become ever expensive.