Somalia to print first banknotes in 25 years with the help of IMF
Following the change of currency notes, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is backing Somalia’s plans to replace its tattered currency notes that were printed before the Horn of Africa nation went into civil war almost three decades ago.
“About 98 percent of the currency circulating in the country is fake,” Samba Thiam, the IMF’s country head, said in an interview Friday in Nairobi, Kenya. “The remaining 2 percent is currency printed during 1990-91, still circulating, but in very bad shape.”
According to Thiam, the printing of the new notes will begin in small denominations as it is aimed at restoring the Central Bank of Somalia’s powers to set monetary policy.
However, the new Somali shilling notes may come into circulation this year, 2017, alongside the dollar that’s been the main means of payment.
Source: venturesafrica.com
