May 20, 2021
The new World Bank Country Manager to the Republic of Sierra Leone has earlier this week paid a courtesy call to the new Minister of Finance Mr. Denise Vandi at his Treasury Building office in Freetown.
In his statement, the new country manager Mr. Abdu Muwong congratulated the new finance minister on his appointment and reiterates the Bank’s commitment to work with his leadership and the government. He continued that to highlight several interventions of the Bank in terms of projects and direct support.
Mr. Muwong cited projects in the Energy Sector, Climate Change, and the Environment, Agro-processing, and Value Added Chain, Education among others.
He stated that investment in agriculture is critical to the country’s economy and also reduces poverty through job creation.
He commended the government for resolving the SL Mining Company issue “it was an attractive signal that will woo investors,” he added.
Madam Gayle Martin, outgoing Country Manager for the World Bank admonished the ministry of finance to think effectively because according to her when the ministry of finance stops to think, the nation will perish.
Dennis K. Vandi, Minister of Finance thanked Madam Gayle for her time in Sierra Leone and welcomes the new country manager to Sierra Leone, while conveyed his appreciation to the World Bank for their support to Sierra Leone Over the years as a major development partner.
He illuminated that, the World Bank interventions have been very supportive to the government, its last portfolio was close to $900 million to support key sectors including Health, Education, Energy, Fisheries, Agriculture, Governance, and Security.
Fortunately for Sierra Leone, he stressed, most of the resources are with grants or concessional loans.
“In 2020, Government secured a total of 282 billion of grant resources including $100 million as budget support, Regional Energy Budget Support of $25 million and the Emergency Corona Response Support of $7.5 million” he added.
The Minister intimated that these resources helped the government to deliver development activities in communities, towns, districts, and cities amidst the challenges of COVID-19 in the economy.
He stated that the economy was estimated to be contracted by 2.25 by 2020 instead of the 3.1% projected. “On the one side of the pandemic that contracted the economic activities caused domestic revenue to a short of about 100 billion in 2020 that was at 14.6% in 2019 to 13.3% in 2020, expenditures increased due to COVID-19 from 22%in 2019 to 26% in 2020, as a result, the deficit widening in 2020 from 3.1% in 2019 to 5.5%, similarly, export-driven to 11% in 2019” he added.
Nonetheless, the minister underscored to partners that, the relatively good news about the economy that, it was being projected to grow by 3.1% higher in 2021 as the country anticipated agricultural activities are increasing, resumption of the iron-ore mining, increased in infrastructural activities; inflation has declined gradually to single digit in March 2021.
He assured the new Country Manager to Sierra Leone of the Ministry’s commitment to work in meeting benchmarks and triggers especially those on the Country Policy Institutional Assessment Performance Actions.