The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the National Council for Civic Education (NaCCED), on Tuesday, 12th March 2024, launched the Citizen Guide to the National Budget, which is a simplified version of the National Budget at the Ministry of Finance Conference Hall George Street Freetown.
In a short but Significant ceremony chaired by the Financial Secretary, Matthew Dingie, he stated that the budget is a technical document that needs to be translated into a simple form that would increase the understanding of ordinary citizens on new taxes and other financial policies, and the government proposed programmes and expenditures.
He continued that the 2024 Appropriation Act was approved and ratified by parliament is a bulky document that most people don’t have the time to read, which is the main reason that the Ministry of Finance collaborated with the National Council for Civic Education (NaCCED) and other interested Civil Society Organisation, Non-State Actors, District Budget Oversight Committee to help explained the bulky budget document in the simplest form.
The Chairman of National Council for Civic Education (NaCCED), Kalilu Totangi, explained that the document covered Introduction of the Budget, Objective of the 2024 Budget, the Economy at a glance, Budget Overview, Areas where the money coming from and how much is it, Key Revenue Mobilization Measures, Areas where the money goes into, Expenditure Management, Selected Government Activities and Programmes, Duty and Tax Exemption, Local Council Financial Performance, Risk to the 2024 Budget.
In his statement, the Minister of Finance, Sheku Fantamadi Bangura, appreciated the participants and urged them to help disseminate the key budget areas to the citizens. He continued that the budget presented to Parliament some months ago is very clear and frank to the citizens of Sierra Leone.
“The things that are happening outside Sierra Leone do affect the way we manage our economy as a nation, and that’s why the government is very frank, and they are not isolated problems,” he added.
Minister Bangura further stated that despite these shocks, the government, through the Ministry of Finance, has crafted a budget that focuses on improving the lives of the citizens and restoring the economy stability through the theme’ ‘Restoring the Macro Economy Stability While Protecting the Poor and Vulnerable ” this is all to restore stability in the economy while protecting the citizens through policies that would improve their well-being and also restoring the economy.
He noted that despite the government’s main agenda being Agriculture (Feed Salone), the government is still consolidating gains in the Free Quality Education, Energy Sector, Health Sector, Transport Sector, Roads Sector and Mining Sector, all of which are strongly considered in the budget.
He concluded by acknowledging the support the government of Sierra Leone is getting from international partners like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, FCDO, EU, etc., in the Financial Management Systems.
