November 22, 2021
By: MOHAMED M. SESAY
During the Budget hearing on Friday the 19th November 2021 in the Well of Parliament, the Minister of Finance Dr. Dennis K. Vandi, informed Members of Parliament that the Bio led Government is allocating the sum of Le1.7 trillion to the education sector, accounting for 22 percent of the total discretionary budget to support basic, secondary, higher and TVET education across the country.
The Finance Minister also explained that the aforementioned amount includes Le752.3 billion as salaries for teachers and Le292.7 billion as salaries for employees of tertiary education institutions. He added that the sum of Le126.8 billion is allocated from the recurrent budget to the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, of which, Le80.9 billion is transfers to Tertiary Education Institutions and Le5.5 billion to the Tertiary Education Commission.
“The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education is also allocated Le31.3 billion from the recurrent budget. Transfers to local councils for devolved education services will amount to Le11.6 billion. The Teaching Service Commission is allocated an amount of Le2.7 billion”, said Dennis Vandi.
Dr. Dennis Vandi furthered that the allocation also includes Le344.8 billion from the domestic capital budget for the provision of teaching and learning materials, payment of school fees subsidies, support to the school feeding programme, payment of WASSCE examination fees, diet for boarding schools, welfare and hygiene packages for school going girls, and rehabilitation of boarding home facilities.
He also assured that development partners will disburse Le445.6 billion to support the implementation of various Basic and Secondary Education projects, including the Free Education Project and the Education Sector Project.
Dr. Vandi also disclosed that development partners are also providing Le415.8 billion for the implementation of projects in Higher and Technical Education, including the construction of the University of Science and Technology in Kono, expansion of Milton Margai Technical University and Eastern Technical University, construction of the Centre of Excellence in Bonthe and the Skills Development Project for the country as a whole.
As part of government’s indefatigable commitment towards the health sector, Dr. Dennis Vandi also intimated that government is allocating a total of Le896.7 billion, accounting for 11 percent of total discretionary expenditure to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.
He said the aforementioned allocation to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation reflects government’s commitment to progressively increase expenditure to the health sector. He further elucidated that the allocation includes Le433.1 billion as salaries for health workers; Le55.8 billion from recurrent expenditures for primary and secondary health care services among others.
In order to Promoting food self-sufficiency in the country, the Finance Minister also informed Members of Parliament that the Bio Administration is also allocating the sum of Le278.0 billion to the Agriculture and Food Security sector as part of their 2022 fiscal year budget.
Out of the Le 278 billion, Dennis Vandi also disclosed that Le17.9 billion is salaries for staff of the Ministry of Agriculture; Le 34.5 billion from the recurrent budget to cover the procurement and distribution of agricultural tools and equipment (Le13.7 billion); rehabilitation of inland valley swamps (Le3.3 billion), agricultural extension services (Le2.9 billion); procurement of animal vaccines (Le1.2 billion); and transfers to local councils for agriculture and food security activities will amount to Le10.2 billion.
The Finance Minister also stated that the allocation also includes Le97.7 billion from the domestic capital budget, of which, Le50.8 billion is for the E-voucher system to provide agricultural inputs to farmers; Le22.0 billion is support to the Chiefdom Youth Farms; and Le9.0 billion to the Onion Development Project. He added that the allocation also includes Government’s contribution to several donor-funded projects in the agriculture sector.
“Development partners, including the World Bank, AfDB, IFAD and IDB, will disburse Le237.6 billion to support the implementation of various projects in the agriculture sector”, Dennis Vandi Assured.