AYV News, December 9, 2025
The Parliament of Sierra Leone has commenced debate on the Bill entitled, “The Appropriation Act of 2026, for the services of Sierra Leone, on the theme ‘’Enhancing Domestic Revenue Mobilisation to Sustain Economic Development for Service Delivery’’.
The Bill seeks to authorize expenditure from the consolidated fund for the services of Sierra Leone for the year 2026 and for other related matters.
Commencing the Debate, the Chairman of Finance Committee, Hon. Francis Amara Kai-Samba from Kenema District expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Finance and others for putting the document together. He lauded the Ministry for stabilising the finances in recent past years. He said the Minister summarized in detail what is happening globally on economic development, relative to the prices of commodities including fuel, encouraging exchange rate, and that GDP is stable.
The MP said that the government is providing machinery and finance to farmers across the country. He also said that the government has provided a technical university in the Eastern Region, which has greatly helped in boosting education in that part of the country.
According to him, the government has greatly improved on health, infrastructure, water, and other sectors. He said a total of NLe49.1 million has been allocated by the government in order to enhance employment across the country.’’ Ever since in the history of Sierra Leone, this government has been the biggest supporter in the area of sports and other sectors’’, he said.
He added by saying that the government has placed a high premium on revenue mobilization to enhance service delivery. ’’Overall, this budget is a fine budget for 2026, and it will definitely help to improve the lives of Sierra Leoneans’’, he concluded.
Hon. Salieu Osman Sesay, representing Bombali district, refuted certain claims, saying that since this government gained power in 2018, Makeni city and the entire North-Eastern and Western Regions have not benefited from any road construction. He called on the Ministry to put in prudent policies in order to have a better economic system in the country.
Hon. Sesay added that when the government increased tax on fuel, tomato, and cement, it would highly affect inflation. He said that the government has little resources to provide allocations to MDAs, which is affecting service delivery in the country. He commended the government for the attention they have placed on agriculture and asked for more support for that sector.
Hon. Joseph Williams Lamin, representing Bo district, debunked claims of no road construction in the Northern Region. He said that the government should render more support to the Ministry of Higher Education to enhance performance and provide more student’s loan schemes to compatriots in the country. He said that the government had provided basic needs for the people of Sierra Leone. He decried Members of the opposition for making unsubstantiated claims against the government.
Hon. Rugiatu Kamara, representing Tonkolili district, said the government has shunned the people of Tonkolili, despite its economic viability to national growth. She said MDAs have been receiving budget allocations lately, which is affecting the growth of the institutions.
“For this year 2025, local councils have not received their allocations’’, she said. Hon. Kamara continued that the agricultural sector is highly discouraging and requires more government attention for effectiveness. 82% of our population are starving and hungry, so let us stop the propaganda”, she ended.
Hon. Charles Abdulai from Bo district said, “Tax is one of the key ways government generates revenue and that the tax burden on citizens have been moderate on taxpayers”. He continued that President Bio’s Government has been exceptional in improving revenue mobilization in the country. He described the budget as a “pro poor budget”, intending to address the needs of the people.” This budget is so realistic, achievable and can stand the test of time”, he said.
Hon. Mahmoud Kamara, representing Western Area, said the document had little benefits for ordinary Sierra Leoneans to celebrate.” What we have before us fall short of the aspirations of the people of Sierra Leone”, he said. He added that the budget of certain offices under the office of the President surpasses the budget of integral institutions across the country such as the Ministry of Health, Sports, and Youth. He asked why the opposition should celebrate the budget with all the hardship and burden on the people of Sierra Leone. “The budget will further deepen the sufferings of our people”, he ended.
Hon. Sarty Banya, representing Kailahun district, debunked claims that the government has not undertaken any development in Tonkolili district. He said there has been great development in the military, courtesy of President Bio’s Government. He equally stated massive improvement in the entire security sector, including the Sierra Leone Police, ONS, and others.
However, he encouraged the Ministry of Finance to improve allocations to the security sector. He said that the government has improved greatly on energy, sport, youth, health, and other sectors.
Hon. Mohamed Papa Bangura, representing Bombali district, called on lawmakers to stop the blame game affirming that, government is continuity. He said, “For nearly two years since the bridge between Bombali and Karene districts collapsed, government is yet to fix it.”
He admonished the government to prioritize road construction, and the area of operation should not be selective and based on political affiliations. He continued by encouraging the government to improve and increase allocations to the sports sector. “We have a good man in the SLFA, in the person of Babadi Kamara, who is doing extremely well in the sporting sector”, he ended.
Hon. Mohamed Alpha Jalloh, representing Falaba district, described the budget as a “misdirected budget’’. He said that the exchange rate is not the only indicator for a stable economy. He continued that the interest payments on domestic debts are huge and have the potentials to affect service delivery in the country. He added that the expected revenue for 2026 is NLe22 billion and that it would be difficult for the Ministry of Finance to generate such amounts of money.’’ Dis na tross tross government”, he said.
Hon. Simeon Johnny, representing Kono district, described the budget as a “people’s centred Budget’’. He extended appreciation to the government for the numerous developments across the country. He admonished colleague MPs to debate constructively and appreciate the work done by the government so far. “Don’t act as if nothing has been done by the government’’, he said. The MP said the office of the President constitutes different offices, which is why the amounts allocated to it is huge.” The Budget is tagged as a people’s centred budget’’, he ended.
