I want to extend a particular welcome to Mr Tom Lee, the representative of Messrs De La Rue, the traditional printers of our currency. To the best of my knowledge, Messrs De La Rue have printed all currency issues by the Bank of Sierra Leone except the 20 Leones note which was printed in 1982 by Messrs Bradbury, Wilkinson plc. I believe, by that seeming act of affront, the company was ultimately bought over by Messrs De La Rue shortly after that event.

The 2000 Leones note is the 12th in the family of currency notes to be launched and circulated since the establishment of the Bank 36 years ago. That does not imply that a new currency note is launched every 3 years. For instance, the 5000 Leones note, the latest in the family was introduced only in 1993. Today, of the 12 series in the family only 5 are in effective circulation. The 2000 Leones note therefore, will increase the number of notes in effective circulation to six (6). Those in circulation are the 5000, 1000, 500, 100 and 50 Leone notes. Let me add that I have used the word effective circulation very guardedly for should any of the currencies so far launched be tendered to any bank or to anyone for a legitimate transaction, it still remains legal tender.

The history behind the 2000 Leones note is somewhat long and was debated for quite some time on purely technical grounds. I shall definitely not bore you with the details of that technical argument; suffice it to say that the decision to issue the 2000 Leones note which prevailed over the issuance of a domination higher than 5000 Leones note was purely on:

- Firstly, the transactional convenience of the 2000 Leones note given the huge differential between the existing 1000 and 5000 Leones notes. Comparatively, within the ECOWAS sub-region, ours is the only currency with such a margin of difference between the two highest denomination notes.

- A second reason is perhaps dictated by recent economic developments which have manifested themselves in the gradual appreciation of the Leone against major currencies whereby the 2000 Leones note now approximates 1USD and £1/2. It is therefore a convenient unit of account.

- A third reason for deciding on the 2000 Leones note is simply sentimental: and that is the Bank wanted a note that will be in sync with the New Millennium - the Year 2000. Although we did not make the target date of January due to printing and technical reasons, we are satisfied that it is today launched just at the beginning of the second quarter of the year.

Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, that is the history of the currency notes of the Bank since inception, but there are many other issues surrounding the currency which I would have loved to share with you all but for which time will not permit.

- First, is the use of the currency and its handling for which we have appealed to the public on many occasions and in various media, if not for anything else but for the fact that it is an expensive commodity to manufacture and to manage.

- Second, perhaps not prematurely, we may not be fortunate to issue another currency note as a National Bank if events and developments within the sub-region towards the introduction of a Second Monetary Zone materialise.

Against this background, and before I conclude my remarks, I want to crave Your Excellencies' indulgence to remark briefly on the subject of economic crimes. I have always noted that Central Bankers have few opportunities to express their views and opinions inspite of the plethora of burning issues that they are expected to address. The subject of economic crimes is very topical globally within the international financial community and I should confine myself only within the realm of currency management.

You will agree with me, Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen, that it is indeed a sad commentary on our national life that theft, outright theft, and fraud are commonplace in both public and private institutions. The idea of people grabbing for their own selfish ends, property that belongs to the State, to a company or to somebody else, has taken such firm root in our society that we must not be ashamed to talk about it openly and to make every effort to arrest that trend.

It is conventional wisdom that banks everywhere in the world suffer silently from economic crimes. For Central Banks, it is not so easy particularly in small communities such as ours. It is a well known fact that even in our small community here in Sierra Leone, the loss to financial institutions through theft and other fraudulent activities is, to say the least, comparatively substantial. For those of us who have operated within the financial sector of this country for sometime, we know that some of the institutional collapses in the last 25 years were due for the most part to economic crimes, which went largely unaddressed. Yet, we see that the culprits not only continue to live with us, instead of being in prison, but that they enjoy the fruits of those criminal activities with levity and abandon.

This I submit and continue to advocate, is a sorry state of affairs and a clear disincentive for both local and direct foreign investment. Sadly still, is the fact that because of the serious lapses in our management of economic crimes and the total lack of appropriate and adequate punishment, those of us who are managers of financial institutions find it extremely difficult to design and implement effective measures to stamp out this cankerworm in our society.

I would refrain from giving specific examples and faulting specific national institutions and agencies from whom we have not received appropriate cooperation, but I want to use this medium with the advantage of the presence of His Excellency in our midst today to appeal to the authorities and specifically to the law enforcement agencies and to those responsible for the dispensation of justice to help this nation in combating economic crime.

I would therefore want to proclaim here, publicly, that notwithstanding the serious obstacles posed by the economic crime "Mafia" within the financial sector and within the specific institutions, I personally will lead the crusade in identifying those rotten eggs within the system and weed them out, without fear or favour. And I trust that my colleagues, Managers within the financial sector and in the respective institutions will do the same.

Your Excellency, Mr Chairman, Distinguished Guests, I thank you all.