Highlights of Good Morning Sierra Leone Program on Radio Democracy FM 98.1-Monday 2nd December, 2013 Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Dr. Kelfala Marah on the 2014 budget read in Parliament on 29th November 2013 • The theme for the budget is ‘Improving the Livelihood of Youths, Women and the Workforce’–it is dedicated to the country with priority to youths, women and the workforce • There is a pay rise for the police, soldiers and teachers from Le400,000 to Le600,000 effective 31 January 2014 • Government is working hard to raise Le2 trillion from the GDP • There is also an increase for senior civil servants • More budgetary allocation was made to the security sector and Parliament • The key priority is workers at the lower level • Le480,000 is now the minimum wage • Cabinet decided that Ministers must wait for a pay rise • Le7.4 billion was allocated as Constituency Fund for Members of Parliament-Government wants to empower MPs to contribute to development • Government’s allocation of resources is on an incremental basis • Le91 billion or 10% of the budget was allocated to the health sector but this is below the Abuja Declaration • Huge resources were allocated to agriculture-Le32 billion • Pillar 1 of the Agenda for Prosperity is economic diversification to improve the agriculture value chain that received Le32.1 billion • Manufacturing and industry received Le2.8 • Le14.4 billion was allocated to Local Councils • Government counterpart funding to donor funds of $631 billion is Le166 billion • Government expenditure for 2012 was Le2.2 trillion • Expenditure projection for 2014 is Le2.6 trillion–this was distributed across the board among the 8 pillars in the Agenda for Prosperity • Expecting budgetary support from donors • Inflation has reduced from 12% to 9.1% as of September this year • People are complaining about increasing cost of living but the budget is a turning point in the development of the country–it brings hope to the people • Government will continue to construct more roads, schools and health centers • Government Ministries that exhaust their budgets will not be replenished • Government makes allocations four times a year • Sometimes development partners delay in disbursing funds • For the past several months salaries are paid on time • The budget is far more ambitious in the area of infrastructure including construction of affordable housing and roads, provision of 24-hours electricity and renovation of Government hospitals nationwide • Support to infrastructural development is key in the budget • Government performing well in domestic revenue generation and has setup a Task Force with other stakeholders to harness revenue generation-Government is expecting mining companies to soon start paying corporate tax • Government supporting water and sanitation projects in the three regions and rehabilitating Fourah Bay College and Port Loko Teachers’ College • Performance is now tried to allocation • Some of the delays in the infrastructural projects are not due to finance • Le261 billion is expected as royalties from mining companies and Le47 billion from gold and diamonds • Government will establish skills and export development funds as well as empower women in entrepreneurship • Government will work with the banks to increase interest rates on loans Station reporter on the reshuffled announced by State House on 29th November 2013 • The shuffle affected senior civil servants in the diplomatic service and parastatals • The former Director-General of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Razia Kamara is now the Chief of Protocol at State House, the first female, while the former Chief of Protocol, Mr. Sullay Daramy is now the High Commissioner to The Gambia • Osman Kei Kamara is the Ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union • Mohamed Sillah-Ambassador to Saudi Arabia • Suliaman Kabba-Koroma, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Revenue Authority • Former Mayor of the Freetown City Council, Winstanly Johnson, Chairman of the Board of the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank • Dr. Michael Kargbo, Chairman of the National Commission for Privatization • Arthur Harvey-Chairman of the Board of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority • Former Inspector-General of Police, Brima Acha Kamara-Ambassador to Liberia • Former Chief of Defense Staff of the Sierra Leone Army, Claude Nelson Williams–Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria • Former RUF Spokesman, Omarie Golley-Ambassador to South Korea • More changes are expected soon Bylden Jenkins-Johnston, lead defense counsel for former Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Haja Afsatu Kabbah on the ruling on corruption charges • The Court of Appeal on 29th November 2013 upheld the appeal of his client–she has won the case • The court must refund the Le450 million fine she earlier paid-the money will be paid by Government–but does not know when • The prosecution made adverse comments against his client that had a lot of inconsistencies • She is a decent citizen and respectable lady–she is delighted at the ruling • The prosecution did not produce enough evidence against the accused • The ruling does not mean the fight against corruption will diminish
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 11:39:46 +0000
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