By Ishmael Bayoh
His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio recently launched the country’s Medium Term National Development Plan 2024-2030 (MTNDP). The plan focuses on the Government’s Big Five Game Changers that constitutes the country’s overarching agenda for 2030.
Well, the IMF’s new arrangement supports the country’s MTNDP which aims to restore stability by bolstering debt sustainability addressing fiscal dominance, bringing down inflation and rebuilding reserves; support inclusive growth through structural reforms and targeted social spending; and confront corruption, and strengthen governance, institutions, and the rule of law.
This Week with President Bio’s Development Agenda looks at some other developmental strides that has taken place from Friday 25 October to Friday 1 November 2024. Read on!!
In Iowa, United States, it’s a continuation of the actualization of his vision of food self-sufficiency for Sierra Leoneans. President Bio on Wednesday 30, held a productive meeting with senior officials from the United States government where they underscored potential collaborative efforts between the Department of Agriculture and the Government of Sierra Leone.
A progress towards food self-sufficiency and its impact driven on the feed Salone, Sierra Leone’s efforts to reduce dependence on imported onions are showing significant results with an estimated 10% drop in onion imports recorded in 2024. With increased support for onion cultivation among local farmers, the Agriculture Ministry entered a strategic partnership with the largest onion importer in Lungi. In 2021, onion imports peaked with 4,162 metric tons (MT) brought into the country at a cost of $12.1 million. Following the launch of Feed Salone, imports dropped to 982 MT in 2022, costing $10 million a reduction of over 76% in volume. This trend continued in 2023, with imports further decreasing to 648 MT at $7 million.
A Press Release from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation on the 2024 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) Report, affirms that Sierra Leone rank in the top 10 most improved countries between 2014-2023, along with Seychelles, Gambia, Angola, Mauritania and Djibouti. The Mo Ibrahim Survey Index is a dataset assessing governance performance and trends in the 54 African countries over the decade 2014-2023 and is based on 322 variables clustered in 96 indicators, organized under 16 sub-categories and four (4) main categories: Security and Rule of Law; Participation, Rights and Inclusion; Foundations for Economic Opportunity; and Human Development.
The Hon. Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh on Tuesday 29 officially inaugurated the Women in Tourism Regional Congress in Freetown. Organized by the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs in collaboration with UN Tourism, the three-day event attracted over 600 delegates and stakeholders with the aim to reshape the tourism landscape for African women through enhanced education, technological innovation, and improved access to finance.
Nutritious food is an essential aspect of President Bio’s Feed Salone. That is why, the U.S. Government through USAID and Bennimix Food Company on Tuesday 29 launched the Bennimix Out Grower Activity in Bo.This project seeks to empower over 5,000 smallholder farmers to increase crop yields and enhance access to nutritious, locally produced foods for vulnerable communities in Sierra Leone with over $400,000 in U.S. Government funding.
A significant progress in the health sector took place on Monday 28 led by Dr. Jalikatu Mustapha, the deputy Health minister 2, as 17 Corneal Transplant Surgeries was conducted on 17 Sierra Leoneans. Corneal transplants can improve vision, treat severe infections, relieve pain, and correct keratoconus, a condition that causes the cornea to change shape.
In their continuation to drive local ownership of the Medium Term National Development Plan 2024-2030, the Ministry of Development was on Tuesday 29 officially handed over the plan to stakeholders in Port Loko District. This is part of government’s commitment to achieving the district’s priorities. The current plan is highly strategic and prioritised, drawing from crucial lessons learned in the implementation of the previous plan, the MTNDP 2019-2023. The new plan is focused on the Government’s Big Five Game Changers that constitute the country’s overarching agenda for 2030 and give strategic direction to the plan.
In Washington, DC on Thursday 31, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today concluded the 2024 Article IV consultation [1] with Sierra Leone and approved a 38-month arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), in the amount of SDR 186.663 million (about US$248.5 million). The Executive Board’s decision enables an immediate disbursement of SDR 34.999 million (about US$46.6 million).