The Speaker of Parliament – SBB Dumbuya called on “Dr. Conteh to do his best in stabilizing the monetary aspect of the economy, as  he has been extolled in superlative terms by Members of Parliament”.

Members of Parliament on both sides of the aisle who contributed to the debate, praised President Koroma for nominating Dr. Conteh to the office of Bank Governor. But critics say that his appointment is tribalistic nepotism.

Conteh (Photo) was described by parliamentarians as more than qualified for the job, and they called on him to tighten the screws on financial leakages, and to stabilise the Leone in line with the US Dollar.

Other members of parliament referred to Conteh “as a man of integrity and sobriety”, calling on him to be innovative in executing his duties, and to revamp the economy by providing access to loans for Sierra Leoneans.

Both the Acting Minority and Majority Leaders of parliament – Jusufu B. Mansaray and Hassan Sheriff, respectively called on Conteh whom they referred to as an “home-grown” Bank Governor (a euphemism for Sierra Leonean appointees that were not trained overseas), to work closely with the Deputy Bank Governor to improve the money supply management in the economy.

They also spoke about the need for improved access to loans to farmers, the effective management of the fisheries sector, and the stabilization of the exchange rates.