Sierra Leone has made notable progress in budget transparency, as evidenced by the latest Open Budget Survey (OBS) results. The country’s transparency score has risen to 55% in 2023, a 10-point increase from its 2021 score of 45%, placing it 10 points above the global average of 45%. This improvement has elevated Sierra Leone’s ranking from 64th in 2021 to 47th in 2023 out of 125 surveyed countries.
This advancement surpasses several regional peers, including Liberia (52%), Ghana (46%), Gambia (36%), São Tomé e Príncipe (32%), Nigeria (31%), and Equatorial Guinea (4%). Key factors contributing to this progress include the publication of the Citizens’ Budget, the Enacted Budget, and In-Year Reports, adhering to the guidelines set forth in the 2016 Public Financial Management Act and its 2018 regulations.
Despite this improvement, Sierra Leone’s transparency score is still 5% below the pass mark of 60%. Abu Bakarr Kamara, Coordinator of the Budget Advocacy Network (BAN), emphasized the need for further action: “To ensure adequate budget information disclosure, Sierra Leone’s government must publish the Pre-Budget Statement online at least one month before submitting the Executive’s Budget Proposal to Parliament and the Mid-Year Review three months after the end of the six months.”
However, citizen participation in the budget process has seen a decline, falling to 20% in 2023 from 31% in 2021. The International Budget Partnership reported that citizen participation in budget formulation dropped significantly, with 70% more citizens participating in 2021 than in 2023 (33%). On a more positive note, 17% of citizens participated in the budget execution stage, and 33% selected issues for the Audit Service Sierra Leone to audit.
Sierra Leone’s audit oversight score has shown improvement, climbing to 78% in 2023 from 72% in 2021. Conversely, legislative oversight has slightly declined, falling from 33% in 2021 to 30% in 2023.
“Accountability systems are still weak globally, but several countries like South Africa, Mexico, and the like are showing that progress is possible where there is political will,” stated Anjali Garg, head of the Open Budget Survey. “Open budget practices are a winning proposition—they build public trust that governments can deliver and can lead to lower borrowing costs when global debt and inequality are at an all-time high. We hope that more countries will boldly open their budget processes to public consultation and scrutiny, ensuring scarce resources reach those who most need them.”
The Open Budget Survey is the world’s only comparative, independent, and regular assessment of transparency, oversight, and public participation in public budgets. The 2023 survey included 125 countries, highlighting significant global variations in budget practices and transparency.
