By Amin Kef Sesay
The Budget Advocacy Network (BAN), which includes, Christian Aid (CA), Campaign for Good Governance (CGG), ActionAid Sierra Leone (AASL), Search for Common Ground (SFCG), Network Movement for Justice (NMJD), Western Area Budget Education Advocacy Network (WABEAN) and Transparency International Sierra Leone, has as a consortium ,on the 23rd November, 2021 issued a statement on the Financial Year 2021 Budget , which according to the institution is based on a quick analysis of the budget highlights of key sectors and issues presented by the Minister of Finance to Parliament on the 19th November 2021.
BAN says it is of the conviction that domestic revenue mobilization at national and local levels and public expenditure are key towards attaining a sustainable economic growth.
Members of BAN are of the opinion that there is a good improvement in the aspect of the Government having a debt areas clearance strategy and principles, which ,according to them, goes in line with the Government having to obtain public debt under a ceiling beyond which they cannot borrow.
The consortium also pointed out that the issue of social inclusion and empowering women as well as the marginalized category is gathering pace at last.
BAN continued that at the National Level they acknowledge the strides made by the National Revenue Authority to increase the domestic revenue collection from 12.3% of GDP in 2018 to 13.3% of GDP in 2020.
“The NRA is on course to hit the 2021 revenue target by all indications based on BAN’s monthly revenue analysis of the Ministry of Finance Monthly Fiscal reports,” it was underscored.
BAN says the increase is as a result of several policies and administrative reforms at the NRA which include the setting up of the Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS), the Electronic Cash Register (ECR), the Electronic Single Window (ESW), the ASYCUDA World to name a few, added to the stricter enforcement of tax laws and rolling out of tax education. The 2022 projections, the institution revealed, show an increase by 2.1% of GDP in 2021 to 1.8% of GDP in 2022.
It was highlighted that despite that success by the NRA, however, achieving the 20% domestic revenue to GDP by 2023 remains a challenge.
“With the country having a projected overall deficit of Le 1.89 trillion (3.7% of GDP) inclusive of grants for the FY2022, the NRA needs to further improve on its domestic revenue collection drive going forward by broadening the tax base without creating extra burden on the citizens, continue with enforcement of the laws and improve on tax education,” BAN recommended.
BAN stressed that at the Local Level they are concerned that the Government is still not doing much towards meeting their commitment to supporting Local Councils to deepen own-source revenue mobilization efforts.
The fiscal watchdog argued that Councils have potentials to generate own-source revenue, but they lack the required policies and systems to maximize revenue, which they could use to provide services at the local level.
To that end, BAN called on Government to implement those provisions set out in the FY 2022 Budget Speech which include: Provision of technical assistance, develop revenue mobilization strategy and manual, automation of property cadastre system and finalize Chiefdom Finance study and develop roadmap for implementation.
Members of BAN applauded the Government’s continuous investment in the human capital development, especially in the area of free quality school education.
The consortium says the investment is in line with the SDG 4, which talks about ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
“The 22% of national budget allocated to the free quality education is slightly above the Global Partnership for Education commitment, as it requires Member State to commit 20% of their national budgets to education,” BAN stated.
The organization said, however, there is a challenge in linking the desired outcomes to investment. Giving an instance, BAN points out that in the 2022 budget speech, it is stated that the Public Expenditure Review (PER) done by the World Bank reveal a weak link between amount of expenditure provided and the expected outcomes in health, education and agriculture.
In other words, BAN stated, the level of Government spending has not translated into the expected improved outcomes as key indicators still trail behind the country’s peers in the sub-region.
The consortium continued that to improve on those, they are calling on the Government to intensify monitoring of those investments and evaluate to ascertain the levels at which the much-needed changes are implemented to impact the interventions or inform a change of strategy to the course.
BAN applauded the Government for its continued effort with the Public Expenditure Tracking Survey (PETS).
“However, we are concerned that result of the 2020 PETS was not published and the 2022 Budget Speech made no mention of publishing the PETS report any time soon,” the organization’s members expressed dismay.
BAN said the Minister of Finance, in 2020, made it clear that PETS will provide valuable insight to policy makers on impediments to improve financial governance and fostering greater transparency and hence be a source of accountability on Government spending.
“We are saying that without the publication of the PETS report, transparency and accountability would be difficult to achieve,” it was maintained.
Members say, furthermore, the Annual Statement of Government Account has not been reporting on the foreign development projects stating that such is a major concern as those projects are part of the budget for the Government. They then called on the Government to include foreign development projects in the Annual Statement of Account.
BAN stated that they are concerned that public debt is on the increase. “As stated in the 2022 budget, it is estimated at US$3.1 billion as at the end of 2021 compared to US$3billion in 2020,” BAN disclosed adding that while they acknowledge that Government debt is a part of fiscal management, they are concerned about the sustainability of rising debt levels and the shift from moderate to high risk of debt distress.
“We urge the Government to disclose the annual debt ceiling beyond which Government cannot borrow to ensure that loans taken on behalf of the People of Sierra Leone are done in a transparent and accountable manner,” BAN stated saying additionally, the debt-servicing burden continue to make it difficult for adequate servicing of the social sectors for the poor and marginalized.
BAN recommended that Government needs to work with other AU States and other partner to lobby for debt relief/cancellation.
It maintains that despite Government’s allocation of 11% to the health sector, Sierra Leone is still below the Abuja Declaration of 15% budgetary allocation.
“We call on Government to increase spending on the health sector,” BAN appealed justifying that emergency situations such as the COVID-19, the Wellington PMB fire disaster and future emergencies require a country to be prepared to respond and be able to save lives of the citizens in time.
The consortium maintained that the need to expand on the current health infrastructure cannot be overemphasized as a quick remedy to the current helpless situation when caught up with emergencies is not defining a developing nation with ambition to advance in medical care and timely response to save much needed lives.
BAN is of the view that the need for the country to have lifesaving medical equipment and motivation for healthcare workers justify the need for Government to up her spending in the health sector.
“It has been long since Sierra Leone signed up to the Abuja Declaration on the 15% health spending and year in year out, we have been reminding the Government to consider this aspect which has not yet been accomplished,” it was said.
Members of the consortium are of the conviction that Government’s response to the needs of the marginalized and persons with disabilities is a good move.
BAN said it is the first time a budget line has been set aside to take care of the needs of those categories of citizens, especially the albinos, which goes a long way to define the social inclusion in line with the ‘leave no one behind’ slogan.
The consortium said it is evident in the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) proposal to the delivery of cash transfers to 71,000 households in 2022 and the provision of micro-grants and productive skills for 500 persons with disabilities, including Albinos in communities nationwide.
“It continues to manifest in the empowerment of women in fisheries and establishment of the women empowerment fund,” the members stated adding how in all of what are stated they are calling on the Government to implement the proposals to better the lot.
BAN said it welcomes the openness regarding information put out in the 2022 budget statement regarding the SDRs of $283 million dollars provided to the Government of Sierra Leone in August 2021 to support the Government’s policy and reform efforts aimed at reinforcing the country’s recovery from the pandemic, preserving macroeconomic stability, and sustaining inclusive long-term growth.
Members say in the related next steps, they and their partners look forward to deepening the relationship with the Ministry of Finance on the financing, execution and reporting on the use of SDRs to the citizens.
In its conclusion, BAN said it should be noted that the issue of budget credibility remains a big challenge in Sierra Leone arguing that the spending laid out in the budget is not delivered during the year.
The consortium maintained that whilst debate and analysis of the budget laid before Parliament is important, it is equally important to monitor the actual spending that takes place during the year.
It continued that in particular, there have been continuing weaknesses in expenditure composition (high levels of reallocation between budget lines and a lack of adherence to budget policy).
These changes made to the budget throughout the year, BAN says, are not brought back to Parliament stating that those are often the result of politically directed spending, which can push out the spending plans of MDAs laid out in the budget.
Another challenge highlighted was that disbursements to MDAs are often late, meaning vital public goods and services are delayed or not delivered at all.
BAN pointed out that whilst they recognize many positive aspects of the budget, they would highlight that implementation is the challenge.
