By: Saidu Jalloh
Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh Dr. outlined government’s commitment to strengthening domestic revenue mobilization as the cornerstone of sustainable national development during the officially launching of the 2026 Budget Hearing at the Bintumani International Conference Center, under the theme: “Enhancing Traditional and Innovative Sources of Domestic Revenue Mobilization to Finance the Big Five Game Changers.” on September 11, 2025.
In his keynote address, Dr. Jalloh expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Finance for inviting him to speak and commended the ministry for prioritizing domestic revenue generation in response to the declining foreign aid.
“The global economic trends have become increasingly unfavorable for developing countries. Over the past few years, the world has been confronted with multiple crises, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the Russia-Ukraine war,” the Vice President stated.
He emphasized the urgent need to reduce dependency on external debt, noting that Sierra Leone spends a significant portion of its revenue on debt servicing. He further highlighted that the widening financing gap for low-income countries poses a serious challenge, with the global funding gap to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 estimated at $4 trillion annually. As a result, countries like Sierra Leone are being forced to shift spending from non-essential services to essential ones.
“There is no better time than now to explore innovative ways to finance our economy. We must rely more on domestic resources,” Dr. Jalloh said.
Recalling his representation of President Bio at a global event in Spain, Dr. Jalloh shared that discussions on the 2030 SDGs stressed the importance of domestic resource mobilization. He pointed out that the focus has now shifted from dialogue to delivery, requiring reforms in taxation, healthcare, and other systems to build capacity for sustainable financing.
The Vice President highlighted that financing Sierra Leone’s development agenda and delivering essential services would require a mix of traditional and innovative financing strategies. He cited Senegal as a model, urging Sierra Leone to adopt similar best practices to boost local revenue generation.
On the topic of traditional revenue, Dr. Jalloh stressed the critical need to fully digitalize the tax department in order to curb fraud and revenue leakages. He also called for a broader tax base by rationalizing tax exemptions, particularly for large multinational companies, to ensure the government maximizes revenue collection.