Commentary

Sierra Leone’s Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, has called for stronger domestic resource mobilisation to meet the country’s development needs amid dwindling aid and global economic shocks.

Speaking at the 2026 budget hearings, he cautioned that “these trends and crises have got significant financing implications for developing countries like Sierra Leone,” citing the pandemic and geopolitical conflicts.

Referencing the UN Financing for Development Conference in Spain, he stressed that “there is a commitment today to raise the tax to GDP ratio at least to 15%,” while Sierra Leone’s remains below 10%.

Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Madam Kenyeh Ballay, echoed the call for fiscal innovation and discipline, stressing that “our future development increasingly depends on how well we strengthen our domestic resource mobilisation, prudent public expenditure, fiscal discipline, and innovative financing approaches.”

She pointed to new opportunities in climate finance, the blue economy, and blended investments, while commending the economic management team for “stabilising the exchange rate, reducing inflation to single digits, and restoring confidence in our macroeconomic framework.”

Finance Minister, Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura, outlined the government’s fiscal priorities for 2026, anchored in the “Big Five” game changers, public service reform, and digital payments.

He highlighted progress in stabilising fundamentals, stating: “We’ve been able to record single-digit inflation since April 2025 at 9.3%,” with growth projected at 4.5% this year.

He also revealed that “a second program that would support the budget in addition to the Extended Credit Facility is the IMF Resilience Sustainability Facility… an additional $210 million facility to be disbursed within 24 months,” alongside tax reforms, mining equity participation, and climate finance to sustain growth and fund social priorities.