The Ministry of Finance has commenced consultations on Sierra Leone’s first Fiscal Risk Strategy (FRS) Statement, marking what officials describe as a transformative step toward strengthening fiscal governance and transparency.
The three-day exercise, which began on Wednesday, 17th September 2025, at Leisure Lodge Hotel in Aberdeen, Freetown, brings together representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL), the National Revenue Authority (NRA), the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Unit, and civil society organisations. The consultations are scheduled to conclude on 19th September 2025.
In her welcome address, Senior Deputy Financial Secretary (SDFS) Mariatu Browne highlighted that the FRS Statement will provide a comprehensive and independent assessment of fiscal risks, including contingent liabilities, climate-related shocks, policy preparedness, and institutional vulnerabilities.
She further noted that the workshop is not a one-off event but the beginning of a broader consultative process to develop a standalone Fiscal Risk Strategy Statement. “The Strategy will facilitate dialogue between government, private sector players, and development partners, while building institutional understanding, technical capacity for fiscal risk analysis, and identifying opportunities to improve interagency data systems,” she said.
Delivering the keynote address, Minister of Finance II, Madam Jenneh Jabati, described the initiative as a defining moment in Sierra Leone’s fiscal governance journey. “It marks a moment of reform, innovation, and national commitment to sound economic management,” she remarked.
She underscored that governments today operate in an increasingly uncertain environment shaped by economic volatility, climate change, public health shocks, natural disasters, and the instability of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). According to her, the development of a dedicated Fiscal Risk Statement demonstrates the government’s bold commitment to fiscal transparency, accountability, and long-term resilience.
The Director of the Fiscal Risk Division, Dr. Alhassan Mansaray, outlined the technical focus areas of the workshop, which include macroeconomic shocks, governance challenges, climate risks, revenue volatility, debt sustainability, budgetary pressures, corruption, political polarization, and institutional weaknesses. He emphasized that the process will culminate in strategic policy recommendations to guide fiscal risk management.
