The theme for this year’s CFR is “Making Sierra Leone’s Capital Work Better for Its Development”.
The report analyses recent economic developments, including economic growth and other key indicators of macroeconomic performance in Sierra Leone, their drivers, and projections in the short to medium term and analyses the economic prospects and outlook considering the impact of the current global trade tensions and geopolitics, and vulnerability to other global and domestic shocks.
In addition, the report provides an assessment of options for boosting domestic capital mobilisation and efficient utilisation.
It examines the effectiveness of domestic capital mobilisation in Sierra Leone, including fiscal, natural, business, financial, and human capital.
In her statement at the virtual launch of the report, the Country Manager of the African Development Bank in Sierra Leone, Halima Hashi, noted that in 2024, real GDP growth in Sierra Leone slowed to 3.9% compared to 5.7% in 2023, mainly due to inflationary pressures, noting that growth in 2024, was driven by the services, mining, and agriculture sectors and was supported by the implementation of prudent macroeconomic policies that helped to reduce inflationary pressures on the economy. Economic growth is projected to accelerate to 4.4% in 2025 and further to 4.8% in 2026, driven by mining and services and supported by ongoing reforms to transform the agriculture sector.
She encouraged the Government of Sierra Leone to sustain the pace of reforms to drive economic diversification, considering the current headwinds in the global economy and with many countries implementing reforms to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation.
Madam Hashi ends by stating that the African Development Bank remains strongly committed to partnering with Sierra Leone in support of diversifying the economy and creating sustainable jobs, particularly for women and youth.
In his keynote address, Deputy Minister of Finance II, Bockarie Kalokoh, noted that recently, the country has seen favourable numbers from the domestic economic front.
The economy, he said, is projected to grow at 4.4 percent in 2025, up from 4 percent in 2024 on account of stronger performance in the mining, agriculture, and services sectors.
Inflation continues to ease, with the latest figures showing a reduction from 9.38 percent in April to 7.55 percent in May 2025.
He further stated that the exchange rate between the Leone and the US Dollar has also been relatively stable since the second half of 2023, and the fiscal deficit has similarly narrowed from 5.3 percent of GDP in 2023 to 4.8 percent in 2024, reflecting the fiscal consolidation efforts of the Government.
He, therefore, welcomes the recommendations to activate mitigation measures, including accelerating the Feed Salone programme and strengthening institutional capacity for climate action and efforts to scale up domestic resource mobilisation, especially from the mining sector.
Other recommendations emphasise the need for improved capital mobilisation and utilisation and fiscal efficiency, improved governance, and strengthening of the rule of law.
Deputy Minister II reiterates that the Government’s commitment is to continue to collaborate with development partners, the private sector, and other external bodies to make capital work better for Sierra Leone.
Credit: MOF Communications
