The Minister of Finance, Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura, accompanied by his Deputy Minister 1, Jeneba Bangura, joined the Chief Minister, Dr David Sengeh, other Ministers and Heads of the Security agencies to discuss government priorities and security-related issues at the Maiden Press Conference of the Ministry of Information and Civic Education, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Conference Hall Tower Hill in Freetown.
Updating the media on the economy, Minister Bangura explained the significance of the supplementary budget approved by parliament on the 31st of July 2023, which he said is a result of catching up with the projections made in the FY 2023 budget.
He noted that the initial assumptions and forecasts made had some changes due to the global crisis, and most of the allocations made for MDAs needed to be revised as said new ministries were created,
The Minister of Finance also explained that the macro framework, which is the potential for revenue generation, had a shift to drive growth; the rise in the price of essential commodities also increased drastically hence the reason for a supplementary budget.
Sheku Fantamadi Bangura explained that the government introduced new tax measures through technology to effectively increase the needed revenue to implement pro-poor Health, Agriculture, Education and Cash transfer policies for poor households.
The government, he said, has deepened fiscal discipline to ensure that the economy is revived. However, he noted that amidst the economic shocks, the economy will experience a reasonable level of growth to about 4.78% of GDP by next year.
©MoF Communications