BAN Launches Sierra Leone COVID-19 Fiscal and Policy Measures Report
BY Mohamed Konneh
With funding from Tax Justice Network Africa, the Budget Advocacy Network on Thursday 12th October 2024 launched the Sierra Leone COVID-19 Fiscal and Policy Measures in Freetown. The launching took place at the CCSL Conference Hall, Kingharman Road in Freetown.
Giving an overview of the report the National Coordinator, Budget Advocacy Network (BAN) Abu Bakarr Kamara said COVID-19 pandemic has had far reaching consequences worldwide, affecting every sector from health to the economy.
‘Like many other countries, Sierra Leone was not immune to its devastation. The country faced an additional challenge to its health care system and economic stability, in addition to the Ebola epidemic. Recognising these enormous obstacles, the Sierra Leone government implemented several fiscal and policy measures to mitigate the socio economic effects and strengthen the country’s resilience in the face of such exceptional disaster, Mr. Kamara said.
The BAN Coordinator noted that the report tracks policy and fiscal measures that were introduced in Sierra Leone to combat the virus and mitigate its impact on the economy and livelihoods.
This he said include an analysis of support provided by the government to the private and informal sector.
In his presentation, the Policy Analyst at Budget Advocacy Network, Abu Bakarr Tarawally said Sierra Leone real GDP in 1019 was 5.3% in 2018 and that expansion of the industrial sector more specifically mining and quarrying activities was the primary factor.
He said the GDP was projected to grow by 45% but plummeted to 20% and that this was due to a decline in foreign demand for major export, notably diamonds as well as a decline in production in the mining sector, transport, trade and tourism.
Mr. Tarawally noted that the COVID-19 pandemic affected almost every sector but the sectors mostly affected according to statistics Sierra Leone were agriculture, forestry and fisheries, mining and quarry, manufacturing and handicrafts, trade and tourism and education.
As for Agriculture, Mr. Tarawally noted that forestry and fisheries growth decline from 5.4% in 2029 to 16% in 2020
On loss of livelihood the BAN Policy Analyst said majority of Sierra Leonean women work in the informal sector and according to the World Bank, the informal sector accounts for a substantial part of employment in sub-Saharan Africa.
He said hotels and restaurants experienced a decline in GDP growth from 2.6% in 2019 to 27.1% in 2020 according to the Statistics Sierra Leone National account report.
‘A survey by the research and delivery team of the Ministry of Finance indicate that 72 % of businesses during this period were partially operational and that 15% were fully operational while 13% of businesses were temporarily closed,’ he said.
Launching the report the Executive Director of Christian Aid Sierra Leone, Mattia Koi Dimoh said it is important in life that someday you have to stop and look back at where you coming from and this is exactly what this report has provided.
He said COVID-19 is something we have to look back at as a people and country noting that the research report explains so much about things that were done as well as lessons learnt.
Koi Dimoh noted that the report present a simple analogy of the things that happens during the COVID-19, what government did and what were done to mitigate the effects.
He said while COVID was going away the Ukraine Russia war emerged and all of these affected the country and people.
Koi Dimoh noted one key lesson that was learnt is that as a country we can come together for the common good of the country and this was seen during the COVID-19.
‘We needed a responsive legal space for service delivery during periods of this nature. Also as we were trying to save lives, lives were also been compromised and this has to do with livelihood activities. We need to learn from this report, he said.
The Christian Aid Country Director called on the gathering not to go and shelved the report but to read and digest it for the good of the country.
The report noted that COVID-19 IN Sierra Leone affected several sectors which led the loss of livelihood of ordinary sierra Leoneans in the agriculture sector and that real GDP growth decline by 5.4 in 2019 to 16% in 2020 for which women were mostly affected.
