Sierra Leone News: Govt Launches 2020 Budget Process
By Mariama Sesay
Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh has on Wednesday September 25, 2019, launched the 2020 National Budget process at the Miatta Conference in Freetown.
The Vice President thanked the Ministers of Finance and Economic Development and Members of Parliament for being part of the process of creating what he called a credible budget.
He said that the budget planning process links government policy to outcomes, with the budget hearing central to the budget development process which ultimately impacts on government’s delivery of goods and services to the people.
He said that the process provides opportunity for ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) to lay out policies and budget plans in helping the Executive achieve economic growth and diversification.
VP Jalloh pointed out that, the now developed Asian states became what they are today through huge investments in education and health in improving productivity.
He said that government remains committed to prioritizing energy for economic diversification, education, health and investments to create jobs.
The Minister of Finance Jacob Jusu Saffa dilated on the importance of making jobs available, a prime priority in the New Direction government. He emphasised his determination to ensure that the people of this country enjoy peace and security, a top agenda he articulated to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Minister Saffa exploited the means in achieving job creation through the agricultural sector , which he envisaged will provide 30,000 jobs for Sierra Leoneans. “Certainly, the 2020 budget will compromise attention to the Agricultural sector so that the young people will access jobs to cushion the bread and butter scheme,” he said. “Without jobs, there is security problem,” the Finance Minister emphasised.
The Sierra Leone Roads Authority, according to the Finance Minister, will catch the attention of the 2020 budget as a major component in job creation. With the SLRA, jobs would be created through the maintenance of feeder roads in all districts in the country.
The Minister said that the youth stand to benefit more if finance is disbursed to the maintenance of feeder roads.
He appealed to contractors to be rational, considerate, as his Ministry is not ready to honour over pricing contracts on maintenance of feeder roads .
The focus of the 2020 budget will embrace the restoration of the country’s forestry by planting more trees, a drive that will also provide jobs for the people of Sierra Leone.
Minister Saffa appealed to the Environmental Agencies to take note that the nation will not just fall trees without replacing them, and therefore, the environment should be protected, and at the same time creating means for Sierra Leoneans to surmount the bread and butter scenario by giving tree planting jobs to people in order to maintain national security.
The Minister said that the SLPP government was able to deliver services to the people of Sierra Leone with a 75 percent internal revenue mobilization compared to the outgone APC government that dispensed just 30 percent to 40 percent of internal revenue, and resorted to Bank loans for service delivery, hence the austerity that hit the country before the 2018 elections.
It was the fiscal discipline maintained by his Ministry, and government that accounted for the successes so far.
Hon. Saffa asserted that all MDAs received all their allocations in the 2019 budget, a reason why the IMFand other international financial institutions have deemed it necessary to continue doing business with the government of Sierra Leone under the New Direction.
Hon. J.J.Saffa reminded Ministries, Departments and Agencies that their budgets should be realistic.
