By John Kelly Marah
The Budget Advocacy Network (BAN) has raised alarm over the Sierra Leone government’s continued failure to disburse budgeted funds to local councils, warning that the situation is crippling essential service delivery and eroding public trust in decentralization.
Speaking in a radio interview at EPIC on the 13 August 2025, BAN’s Gender Lead, Mariam Samuel, said that as of mid-2025, none of the country’s 15 local councils received any portion of their budgeted allocations for the current fiscal year. Many, she said are still awaiting outstanding funds from the 2024 fiscal year.
Under the Local Government Act of 2022, councils are mandated to deliver basic services in education, healthcare, agriculture, social welfare, water and sanitation, and rural infrastructure – especially in rural and marginalized communities.
BAN says the government’s inaction is making it impossible for councils to hire competent staff, maintain facilities, or respond to urgent community needs.
“This is not just an administrative delay; it is systematic sabotage of the decentralization agenda,” the statement read, adding that millions of citizens now face declining access to critical services such as healthcare, education, water, sanitation, and rural development.
Although councils consistently receive less than 2% of the national budget, actual disbursements are even lower. In 2024, councils were allocated NLe 199.8 million, but only NLe 120.9 million was released—just 61% of the approved amount. The government still owes councils NLe 28.9 million for April, May, and June 2024.
BAN Coordinator, Abubakar Kamara, said the shortfall has triggered a service delivery crisis: Schools are unable to carry out planned repairs. Health centres are facing critical shortages of medical supplies. Pregnant women are paying for services that should be free because ambulance and maternity resources have not been delivered. Patient feeding programs in hospitals have stalled since January.
Kamara noted that while other sectors have received more funding through the supplementary budget, local councils continue to be side-lined. He added that BAN is urging the Ministry of Finance to: Publish a time-bound schedule for transfers to each council; disclose the exact amounts allocated for key programs; and set clear public timelines for disbursements.
“The effects are great. The government must act now to restore confidence in decentralization,” Kamara concluded.
