Finance Ministry Presents Le154.7 Billion for FY 2026

By: John Kelly Marah
In a significant budget presentation held at the Ministry of Finance Hall on 26 September 2025, George Street, Freetown, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Madam Kadiatu Alie, unveiled the ministry’s proposed 2026 fiscal ceiling budget, estimated at Le154.7 billion.
She began her presentation with an overview of the ministry’s mandate, mission, vision, and core values, while also reflecting on achievements recorded so far.
According to Madam Alie, the ministry’s key deliverables for 2026 include:
Increasing domestic revenue from 13% of GDP in 2022 to at least 18% by 2026, alongside external resource mobilisation.
Strengthening debt sustainability by reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio from 74.5% to less than 50.2% by 2027.
Enhancing budget planning, execution, and reporting in line with the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act 2016.

Reviewing the PFM Act 2016
Training and capacity building for at least 50 staff.
She further broke down the budget allocations to the ministry’s departments as follows: Corporate Services Directorate: Le71.38 billion
Office of the Financial Secretary: Le2.15 billion
Economic Policy Management Directorate: Le72.45 billion
Fiscal Operations Directorate: Le2.52 billion
Project Fiduciary Management and Coordination Directorate: Le6.25 billion
The total allocation to the various departments amounts to Le154.75 billion, consistent with the overall ceiling.
However, the Deputy Minister also highlighted challenges the ministry faced between 2024 and 2025, including funding constraints, delayed disbursement of funds for key activities, extra-budgetary requests from MDAs, and reliance on external support. Despite these hurdles, she reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to supporting government’s flagship programmes.
Madam Alie also recalled that the ministry managed budgets of Le27.1 billion in 2024 and Le127.7 billion in 2025, marking a significant progression to the current ceiling.
In conclusion, she commended the Government of Sierra Leone for its continued support and reiterated the ministry’s dedication to advancing fiscal discipline and national development.