By: Mohamed Sahr
Preparing ahead of 2025 Financial Year, Sheku Fanta Madi Bangura has urged different Ministries, Departments and Agencies on policy directives during a meeting held at the Ministry’s headquarters in Freetown on Monday 12th August 2024.
The Minister of Finance, said the call for budget preparation among various MDAs seeks to provide guidelines in the budget preparation for 2025. He added that it would be necessary to inform the key players that would be participated fully in the preparation and execution of the budgets of their respective ministries.
Mr Bangura continued that Ministries, Departments and Agencies should align their budget with the Medium-Term National Development Plan and ‘’Big Five Game Changer Agenda of Government’’.
He admonished his colleague ministers to focus on government priority areas for 2025, such as Feed Salone, jobs Creation, Energy Production, the Free Quality Education Program, and road construction, which would help to boost the economy and promote Human Capital Development.
He implored MDAs to comply with the Budget Ceilings provided in the Budget Called Circular document, but at the same time, asked MDAs to present a clear picture in terms of the cost of their activities for 2025 so that the Ministry of Finance through further engagements can help them plan and prioritise activities for the year under review.
Madam Kenyeh Barlay, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, noted that this year marks the second year of the Medium-Term National Development Plan, noting that this would enhance MDAs to deliver on priority projects with tangible outcomes for the people of Sierra Leone.
She mentioned that Local Councils had submitted over 204 Projects to the Public Investment Program (PIP). She called on MDAs to stick to their Deliverables in the Medium-Term National Development Plan and the Big Five Game Changer.
Matthew Dingie, Financial Secretary outlined that the two parts of the budget, Recurrent and Capital Expenditures.
He urged MDAs to capture Utility bills, Supplies, Travel, and impresses as recurrent expenditures so that the Ministry will make a one-off transfer of these expenditures to the MDAs’ account to avoid frequent PET Forms requests. “The FY2025 Budget Preparation Process will commence with a National Policy Hearings on Thursday, 15th August 2024,” he said.
