for 2023
By Hasbin Shaw
The Assistant to the Secretary to the Vice President, Swalihu Jusu, on Monday October 3rd, 2023, revealed that the Vice President’s office will need a total of NLe 63, 055, 344, 40 million in the 2023 Financial Year, in order to fully discharge it roles and responsibilities, in spite of the fact that it did not spend above its 2022 allocated budget.
Jusu made this disclosure at the Finance Ministry’s Conference hall during the Budget Hearing process for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Jusu commented that the budget is to facilitate the functions of the various units within the Vice President’s office; which includes; Scaling up of Nutrition, Sierra Leone Compact Unit, Public Private Partnership (PPP), Sierra Leone Extractive Industry Transparency Initiatives (SLEITI), and the National Early Warning & Response Mechanism Coordinating Centre.
According to Jusu, the Vice President’s Office allocation in 2022 was a total of Le 14, 218,000, 000, from which it has spent a total of Le 8, 483,779,823 million so far.
Giving the core expenditures of the 2022 allocated budgets, as per the organogram of the office of the Vice President, Jusu said that the Sierra Leone Compact Development Unit (SLCDU) allocation through the office of the Vice President was a total of Le 1,059,900,000 and it actual release was the sum of Le 530,000,000.
“The Public Private Partnership (PPP) budget allocation was a total of Le 1,559,900,000, but the actual release was the sum of Le 780,000,000. The Sierra Leone Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (SLEITI) was allocated Le 734,000,000, but actual release was Le 735,080,000,” he said.
He added that the National Early Warning & Response Mechanism Coordinating Centre (NEWRMC) allocation was a total of Le 800,000,000, but it release was the sum of Le 400,000,000.
He informed all that the Vice President in his mandates has so far been able to convene Inter-Ministerial meetings on local governance, monitoring of MDAs activities in the delivery of basic services, Implement Beneficiary Ownership directives and corrective action for SLEITI 2021 validation, signed the Compact Development Fund Agreement, etc etc.
He added that the Office is challenged with issues of inadequate space to house all units, inadequate allocation and untimely release of funds, and inadequate vehicles to undertake monitoring exercises up-country. He noted that the aforementioned are challenges that must be solved in the coming financial year.