By: Aaron Bundu Lahai-Head of Media & Public Relations
The Honourable Vice President of Sierra Leone Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh has on Thursday 15th August, 2024 encouraged the Ministry of Finance to help local councils with capital grant and procured vehicles for the twenty-two district and municipal councils in Sierra Leone, noting that the councils are without vehicles. He described local councils as central to development, noting that without councils, governance will be crippled. He stressed on the need for supports to councils because of the huge developments they are involved in at ward, district, and municipal levels. He was speaking at the opening of the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Hearing at the New Brookfields Hotel in Freetown.
Vice President Jalloh said that the future of Free Quality Education is going to be the status of higher and technical education, he therefore called for an investment in higher education in three areas like infrastructure such as universities’ classrooms; human resource among others. He thanked the Minister of Finance for the Alternative Financing document for technical and higher education presented to Cabinet, noting that private financing is important. He encouraged revenue generating ministries to continue to do more.
Dr Jalloh expressed appreciation to the Minister of Finance for giving assurance not to increase tax on essential commodities, he however admonished the Finance Ministry to enhance tax management. He encouraged the Ministry of Finance to support processes that increase efficiency regime like school feeding programme, regular live saving support to hospitals, and other key sectors that need supports. He singled out the Ministry of Information and Civic Education as one key sector that needs support to expand their work outside budgetary allocation because of the ministry’s extra ordinary work in the last one year. He described the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation as a critical sector that needs support to add value by transforming from analogue to digital.
The Honourable Vice President informed about price stabilisation of essential commodities like rice in the last couple of months by the Government of Sierra Leone despite challenges in the remote parts of the country due to rugged road leading to those communities. He disclosed a Price Stabilization Formula the Ministry of Trade is presently working on. The Formula he explained is to prevent business men from making an overnight increase in essential commodities without getting approval from the Ministry of Trade.
He disclosed a difficult transition from development financing to subsidy. He lauded the Finance Ministry for doing extraordinarily well for not allowing increase cost of living to affect the citizens, he buttressed about subsidies the Government of Sierra Leone has been providing for rice, fuel and electricity. He noted that Sierra Leoneans are paying the least electricity tariff compared to countries like Algeria that has oil. He informed that the country has showcased it capacity to manage the economy very well in the midst of odd times.
Vice President Jalloh expressed hope to see a bridge budget, explaining that the idea of bridge budget is to consolidate the gains made in the human capital development like the budgetary allocation to the education and health sectors, and open new perspective. He suggested for a competitive loan for people interested in agriculture, adding that the loans should not be subjected to interest rates to those interested in buying and selling agricultural products only. He discussed the need for the establishment of a collateral fund at the Bank of Sierra Leone to support people interested in private sector investment in agriculture.
“Feed Salone has one single objective to increase domestic food production,” he averred.
He noted that Government of Sierra Leone is spending huge money to import rice with its corresponding impact and stress from suppliers that pressurized government for additional foreign currency. He stressed that the agricultural sector is the most productive sector for job creation from production, to processing to commercialisation. He thanked the Minister of Finance and team for the tremendous work in stabilising the economy and supporting service delivery against the global economic challenges.
Sheku Fantamadi Bangura, Sierra Leone Minister of Finance said that the key focus of Government transformative agenda is on delivering food security, human capital development and job creation.
He informed about the implementation of pro-poor policy interventions by the Julius Maada Bio Administration since 2028. He stated that Sierra Leone is in a permanent shock environment because of the global development that is affecting the country’s economy. He assured of Government continue implementation of reforms and broadens the tax rates and compliance outlined in the medium term revenue mobilization strategy.
