On Friday November 8, Sierra Leone’s Finance Minister Jacob Jusu Saffa (photo) delivered the 2020 budget speech in the House of Parliament in Freetown.
It is an optimistic budget with tough decisions in line with IMF conditionalities and promised assistance. The essence and underlying thinking in the speech can be encapsulated in the following introductory statement:
“Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, last year when I presented the 2019
Budget, we made two hundred and sixteen (216) commitments across eleven (11) policy clusters. As at the end of the third quarter of this fiscal year, eighty-six (86) per cent of these commitments have either been completed or on track to be completed. The positive gains achieved will be sustained in ensuing years. We also promised that despite the challenges we inherited, we will restore macroeconomic stability, fiscal discipline and create the enabling environment for sustainable growth.”
Click on the link below for the full speech:
https://mof.gov.sl/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/FY-2020-Budget-Speech-and-Profile-1.pdf