The Deputy Minister of Finance (1) Dr. Patricia Nyanga Laverley has urged Members of Parliament to support the implementation of the Government Budget and and Financial Policies for the Financial Year 2021.
She made this clarion call on Wednesday November 25, 2020 in the Well of Parliament while responding to concerns made by parliamentarians at the end of the three-day budget debate.
“This is the people’s budget. Yes, the Sierra Leone People’s Party is in government; but this budget is for all 7.2 million Sierra Leoneans,” she said.
According to her, since coming to governance they have tabled five budget documents and so far they have been very consistent with their theme which is ‘Human capital development and job creation’, noting that remarkable progress has been made in each of the human capital development clusters.
Responding to concerns from MPs on the issues of Social Welfare for vulnerable groups, the Deputy Minister responded with the following “We are now targeting 73,000 vulnerable groups to be receiving Le 1,300,000 per quarter over the next three years. The profiling of these beneficiaries for this cash transfer program will be based on data collected by Statistics Sierra Leone and the World Bank. The list of beneficiaries will be validated by not only the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) but by the World Bank as well before the cash will be released to the beneficiaries,” she said.
Responding to a question relating to the transfer of the National Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate, from the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED) to the Office of the President, she said the rationale for doing this is to ensure that the directorate is in a position to advice government to withhold funds from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that are underperforming in their various government and donor-funded projects implementations.
“We are trying to strengthen our controls. It is only when we strengthen our controls we will be able to enhance the credibility of our financial management and practices. So this move will give the Ministry of Finance the greater authority to withhold funds from MDAs,” she said.
Responding to concerns relating to the establishment of the Wages and Salary Commission, she said next year, a bill will be tabled in parliament and the rationale is to harmonize wages in the country and in the process held government to save funds.
Dr. Laverley assured members of parliament that the proposals in the FY2021 Budget speech are achievable and realistic to not only help in the economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19 but also will improve the lives of Sierra Leoneans.
The Budget has been committed to the committee of supplies and is expected to be approved afterward.
By Sallieu S. Kanu
27/11/2020. ISSUE NO: 7959