The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in October 2024 approved a new US$253 million 38-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement for Sierra Leone.
This ECF Programme aims to support restoring stability through continued macroeconomic adjustment to address debt vulnerabilities, reduce inflation, and rebuild international reserves; bolster inclusive growth and poverty reduction through structural reforms and targeted social spending; and revitalise the reform agenda to strengthen governance and institutions in advancing the poverty reduction and growth aspirations outlined in the country’s Medium Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2024-30.
As a follow-up to the agreed reforms and structural adjustments to achieve the objective of the ECF programme, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission engaged the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Sierra Leone, and the National Revenue Authority (NRA) on Monday, January 27th, 2025, to discuss the progress, challenges, and way forward in implementing the agreed reforms.
In the meeting, held at the office of the Ag. Minister of Finance Kadiatu Allie, where the Mission Chief Christian Saborowski commended the government for taking bold and concrete steps to implement the agreed reforms.
He outlined issues around the guidelines issued out, such as roads budget, costings and the list of road, governance and corruption diagnostic, which he said are the three outstanding structural benchmarks which a mission will come and discuss extensively in May this year.
The Mission Chief Christian Saborowski government further commended the government for the drop in inflation and the stability of the exchange rate in the country and promised to further engage the relevant government officials to discuss and find solutions for the implementation of the reforms.
The Deputy Minister of Finance 1, Kadiatu Allie, thanked the IMF Mission Team for all the issues raised. She noted that the debt service and arrears on electricity keep taking a huge amount of domestic revenue.
She reiterates the government’s commitment to implementing reforms to improve the country’s economy.
The Bank Governor, Dr Ibrahim Stevens, explained that his work as a bank governor is to provide economic stability, which, since he assumed office in eighteen months, has reduced inflation to 13.78%.
The Financial Secretary Matthew Dingie explained that the issues raised on the budgeting and costing of roads are in progress, and the government has been working with recommended individuals from IMF together with the budget Director, and he believes there are no issues around that.
The Financial Secretary encouraged the team to discuss all issues raised to know in detail how to address them for smooth implementation of the programme.
MOF Communications
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