By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Sierra Leone has secured US$100 million grant from the World Bank to support economic resilience in the country. The Board of Directors of the World Bank approved the grant in a meeting on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Bank’s country office.
The statement quoted Country Manager, Martin Gayle, saying: “This financing will help address fiscal challenges and improve overall governance to build resilience and enhance the delivery of services to the people amidst this global COVID-19 pandemic.”
She added: “Sierra Leone’s opportunities to eradicate extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity rest on sustained macroeconomic stability, robust growth and a solid enabling environment for the exploitation of its abundant natural resources.”
The US$100 million increases the Bank’s grant portfolio for Sierra Leone. The Public Relations Office at the Ministry of Finance, Ahmed Sesay, told Politico that the whole process was initiated last year when President Julius Maada Bio visited the group’s leadership in Zurich to make a case for an increased investment in the country. Bio held talks with the President and Vice President of the Bank.
“He asked them to scale up their budgetary support to Sierra Leone which is around US$40 to US$60 million every year, to US$100 million. So government had been working to ensure they meet some of the required criteria, some of which are strengthening sectors like the Anti-Corruption Commission and the minerals sector. All of these things government have been able to meet the standards,” Sesay said.
The World Bank and the Ministry of Finance will sign the paper work relating to the grant in the coming days. Sesay said once the deal is signed, Sierra Leone could receive the money in bulk at any time.
“The World Bank continues to support the Government’s commitment to tackle difficult and needed reforms to promote inclusive growth,” said Youssouf Kiendrebeogo, World Bank Senior Economist and Task Team Leader.
Like most economies in the world, Sierra Leone’s economy is struggling in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic.
World Bank figures show that “the economy is expected to contract by between 2.3 and 3.1 percent in 2020 and growth could be 1.4 to 2.0 percentage points lower than forecast for the medium term.”
In May this year the government launched the Quick Action Economic Response Program (QAERP) as a response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.
The cost of the QAERP is US$ 136 million.
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