Sierra Leone Telegraph: 5 August 2025:
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Finance, Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura, last Tuesday, 29th July 2025, presented his government’s 2025 Supplementary Budget (The Supplementary Appropriation Act 2025) to Parliament.
The Supplementary Appropriation Act 2025 is an adjustment of the 2025 Budget that was approved by Parliament in December 2024, which according to the finance minister is aimed at addressing the evolving domestic and global economic challenges facing the country, while reinforcing fiscal discipline.
Addressing the country’s Parliamentarians, the minister said that Sierra Leone has achieved significant macroeconomic improvements since the passing of the 2025 Budget Act last December, and that the purpose of the Supplementary Appropriation Act 2025 is for Parliament to authorise expenditure from the Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund for the rest of the year.
The government he said, had in December 2024 requested a total expenditure of Twenty-Seven Billion, Seven Hundred and Sixteen Million, Three Hundred and Fifty-Seven Thousand, Four Hundred Leones.
But this original expenditure budget he said, has now been revised downwards, following the government’s decision to cut its forecast spending to Fourteen Billion, Four Hundred and Sixty Million, Seven Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Four Hundred Leones.
The Minister said that inflation is now much lower than originally projected and exchange rate is stronger than originally envisaged. He added that government treasury bill rates has fallen faster to sustainable levels.
The Minister told parliament that many of the assumptions which underpinned the original revenue and expenditure budget projections in December 2024, are no longer present.
But he said that despite these encouraging improvements, Sierra Leone’s economy is faced with serious risks, such as the heightened global economic uncertainty caused by the American government’s ad-hoc tariff hikes, ongoing and new global conflicts, declining aid flows, tighter financing conditions and debt vulnerabilities.
In order for the government to continue to stabilise the economy, ensure budget credibility and minimize the accumulation of debt, public expenditure the finance minister told parliamentarians, has been cut to reflect the forecast decline in domestic revenue in the second half of this year.
The government’s budget deficit has therefore been downgraded from 3.9 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 3.8 percent.
Consequently, the government has reduced its borrowing from the banking system, which has taken some pressure off the Bank of Sierra Leone in its fight to tackle high inflation, reduce Treasury Bill rates, and ensure the stability of the Leone.
In the last eighteen months, inflation he said, has “declined steadily from 54.5 % in October 2023 to 13.8% in December 2024,” adding that inflation continued to decline in 2025 to 7.1% in June 2025.
The Minister also said that there have been improvements in export revenue from minerals and agricultural produce; cost of food and petroleum imports have declined; trade deficit narrowed; gross foreign reserves improved; and foreign exchange much stable.
The Minister assured Parliament that the government’s Supplementary Budget will maintain fiscal consolidation in the second half of this year, to preserve macroeconomic gains, enhance budget credibility, and address debt vulnerabilities.
He said that the Supplementary Budget would help boost investor and donor confidence, while creating the fiscal space for spending on priority sectors.
During the debate, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Finance Committee – Francis Amara Kai-Samba commended the government for achieving lower inflation. He underscored the performance of the National Revenue Authority in collecting taxes; but said that sensitisation would improve tax collection.
He appealed to the Minister of Finance to pay funds allocated to the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies on time, adding that some government activities are time bound.
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Aaron Aruna Koroma representing Tonkolili District, said that the government’s Supplementary Budget 2025 is nothing but an “Austerity Budget”, and spoke of the government’s delay in paying funds to local councils.
Koroma questioned the veracity of the figures presented by the finance minister. He said that the economic improvements referred to by the minister do not reflect the hardship people are facing in the country, and the poor foreign exchange rate of the Leone.
Youth employment, job creation and overall economic growth will suffer because of the government’s austerity he said; and called on the government to look at other ways of achieving economic growth.
In another development, Parliament of Sierra Leone, also last Tuesday, 29th July 2025, debated and ratified a Financing Agreement between the European Commission and the Government of Sierra Leone, for the development of sustainable food and agricultural value chain systems.
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