EXCERPTS! GOVERNMENT OF SIERRA LEONE BUDGET AND STATEMENT OF ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL POLICIES FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR, 2015 V. POTENTIAL MEDIUM-TERM ECONOMIC IMPACT OF EBOLA EPIDEMIC AND MACROECONOMIC FRAMEWORK, 2015-2017 36. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the medium-term macro-fiscal framework agreed with the IMF in April 2014 indicate strong growth, declining inflation and improving external and fiscal performance. This was anchored on the assumption of expansion in iron ore mining, agriculture and services, coupled with the expected recovery in the electricity sector and the planned scaling-up of investment under the Agenda for Prosperity. 37. Unfortunately, the spread of the Eobla and its heavy toll on human lives, including its dampening effect on economic activities requires a revision of the medium term outlook to reflect current developments. And it is anchored on two scenarios: (i) an Optimistic Low Ebola Scenario that assumes the containment of the virus by end 2014 and (ii) a Pessimistic High Ebola Scenario that assumes the Ebola Virus is not contained until the third quarter in 2015.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 19:54:11 +0000