Sierra Leone hosted the 13th AFRITAC West2 Steering Committee on Thursday, 18th, and Friday, 19th June 2026, to advance institutional reforms in the region. The meeting brought together government officials, development partners, and regional heads of institutions from Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Gambia, etc.
During the opening ceremony, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development Madam Kenyeh Barlay, thanked the International Monetary Fund(IMF) AFRITAC West 2 for capacity development in promoting economic growth and resilience in West Africa, noting that the center, and member states and regional stakeholders are working towards the common goal of building capacity of public institution to stair reform policies in the areas of revenue administration, public financial management, monetary and exchange rate policies, financial sector supervision and statistics.
Madam Barlay also stated that the centre has helped develop a database of capital investment projects, public investment management guidelines to guide investment managed by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, and the alignment of budget processes with development planning, with a focus on gender and capital budgeting, among others.
She highlighted that revenue administration has improved due to tools and standard operating procedures for more efficient delivery of tax administration processes, such as ITAS, improvement of the taxpayer register, and the strengthening of customs intelligence and investigation capacity, SOE Health Check tools, SOE Fiscal risk management, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as tangible interventions of the center.
During the course of the two-day deliberations, Presentation of the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Regional Economic Outlook; AFRITAC West 2’s achievements for FY2026 (1 May 2025 – 30 April 2026) and the FY2027 Work Plan, AFRITAC West 2 Budget and Financing Gap under Phase III; and also featured panel discussions on several thematic areas, including Public Financial Management (PFM), Monetary Policy and Banking Supervision, Statistics, Leadership and Governance, and the Integration of IMF Capacity Development and Fund-Supported Programmes.
In the experience- and knowledge-sharing session on Public Financial Management reforms in Sierra Leone, which highlighted achievements, ongoing reforms, challenges, lessons learned, and future priorities, the Acting National Budget Director, Dr. Ilara Mahdi, delivered a comprehensive presentation covering key aspects of Sierra Leone’s PFM reform agenda. The presentation focused on PFM Institutional Arrangements, the Legal and Regulatory Framework governing Public Financial Management, and the implementation of the PFM Strategy and related policy documents.
The Ministry of Finance delegation was led by the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, who chaired the Steering Committee. Other senior participants from the Government of Sierra Leone included the Principal Deputy Financial Secretary (PDFS), the Chief Economist (Panelist), the Deputy Financial Secretary (DFS), the Deputy Governor, the Deputy Statistician General, the Commissioner General (CG-NRA), and other senior government officials.
