By Kemoh Saidu Sesay
After reading the recent press release from the Ministry of Information and Civic Education, I realised the masterclass glosses over the reality of austerity measures in Sierra Leone. While the government publicises achievements like reduced inflation and steady GDP growth, it conveniently ignores the financial mismanagement exposed by the IMF mission’s findings. It is no secret that Sierra Leone’s economic stability hangs by a thread, undermined by zealous spending on overseas trips and epileptic infrastructural development that lacks transparency.
Let’s be clear that Sierra Leone is not just facing economic challenges; it is struggling with the upshot of poor fiscal decisions. The press release admits that higher-than-planned capital spending on roads and energy projects caused significant deviations from key fiscal targets in late 2024. This acknowledgement, buried deep within the release, reveals a troubling pattern of misplaced priorities. While infrastructure development is undeniably important, pouring money into large-scale projects at the expense of meeting critical fiscal benchmarks is short-sighted and demonstrates incompetence within the corridors of governance. These expenditures have widened the budget deficit, forcing the government to be economical in announcing a STATE OF AUSTERITY when it is too obvious to Sierra Leoneans.
What is worse is how the government frames this serious matter. Government officials are painting a misleading picture of unattained progress. For instance, citing selective statistics that portray unsustainable progress, like the reduction of inflation from 54.5% in October 2023 to 13.1% in February 2025, does not erase the hard facts that the country’s economy is managed by “Rankonomists.” Selectively reporting positive outcomes while minimising or outright ignoring failures is a missed opportunity to correct their long-standing lack of transparency and accountability.
This offering of a sanitised version of events fails to address structural issues like the spate of corruption, a crippled governance system, and inadequate tax collection mechanisms. These problems are at the heart of Sierra Leone’s dangling economic woes. However, these problems have remained unaddressed despite years of IMF support and ambitious reform agendas. It’s time for Sierra Leone’s government to stop hiding behind half-truths and take responsibility for its actions. The cycle of overspending and austerity measures is unsustainable, and unless meaningful reforms are implemented, the country risks sliding further into economic turmoil.
