Upside risks to the outlook are predicated on the assumption that the economy would fully reopen, the ongoing policy and structural reforms supported by the NDP be implemented, the economic stimulus program continue, and external financial assistance in grants, concessional loans, debt service suspension, and restructuring be secured.
In that scenario, growth is projected to accelerate to 3. Inflation is projected to ease to Downside risks to the outlook emanate from delays in the full reopening of the economy, a potential slowdown in global demand, and weak international assistance to supplement growth recovery efforts.
View All Experts. Stay Connected. What's New. Latest Events. In Depth. Oct 06, Stay Connected Subscribe to Our Newsletters. Additional Resources. Citizens cannot cure illnesses effectively and quickly because they do not have the financial means to afford even basic healthcare. As a result, they can fall fatally ill and pass away; if an individual who is the sole breadwinner of a family passes away, the family is left without an income, which drives them further into poverty.
Alternatively, even if an individual is not fatally ill, they cannot go earn money for subsistence until they feel better, which they cannot achieve with expensive medicine. These unnecessary health-care expenses have played a significant role in propelling and perpetuating poverty amongst citizens. Funds, both from within Sierra Leone itself and from assistance given by donor nations, have been taken away from projects that could truly benefit the people to bring them out of poverty.
Instead, these funds have been used to serve the specific and inordinate needs of government officials and the urban elite, who happen to be government supporters. One significant example of this can be found within the rule of Siaka Stevens, the first President of Sierra Leone. He used up most of the financial resources that were meant for his state and people; as a result, poverty and underdevelopment reigned, and has continued within Sierra Leone.
The diamond industry, one of the main sources of revenue for the Sierra Leonean government, has brought significant income to the country, but the top-down effect is virtually non-existent; lower-class and rural citizens still experience exploitative labour relations and persistent poverty within mining communities.
In addition, external factors such as a decreased demand for diamonds worldwide has thrown many Sierra Leoneans out of jobs and into poverty. The infrastructure within Sierra Leone is anything but sound; the money that is meant to build sturdy roads and bridges to enable facilitated transport of goods and basic services goes into the pockets of government officials.
Even in colonial times, railroads that were constructed for the explicit purpose of expediting transportation and enhancing trade were ultimately seen as inefficient, and as a financial drain on the state.
Sierra Leone does regard areas like Freetown, a major seaport, as significant to their imports and trade activities. However, this does not take importance away from roads; transport of services into rural areas, as well as trade between areas that do not have seaports, is facilitated by roads, which Sierra Leone lacks. As a result, Sierra Leoneans undersell their products, which results in lesser revenue and perpetuates poverty. Lack of infrastructure also leads to easy movement of rebels and militiamen, such as the RUF, to cause violence over a wider range of areas within Sierra Leone to emphasise their objectives.
Citizens displaced by rebels face even more poverty as they are forced to flee from their home and their jobs into areas where nothing is guaranteed. Even outside help, such as foreign troops, cannot get into remote areas to provide emergency aid and stop militiamen if there is no solid infrastructure to help them get there.
Weak infrastructure has also caused a spike in diamond prices, causing poverty within Sierra Leone. Costs to get diamonds from one area to another are high since roads and highways continue to remain in poor shape. For this reason, Sierra Leone cannot price its diamonds as cheaply as other countries can on an international platform.
These focus areas are agribusiness, energy, and mining. Each of these sectors will also benefit from the increased interventions to improve access to finance. The IFC Country Strategy also highlights the increasing role of the digital economy in improving efficiencies and productivity and is fully aligned with the World Bank Country Partnership Framework.
MIGA recognizes the heightened perception of political risk and in particular the prevailing fragilities alongside increased interest in foreign investment in the country. MIGA continues to actively explore opportunities to support private investment in Sierra Leone, especially in the power, telecoms, and commercial agriculture sectors supporting independent power projects and off-grid power solutions.
Among other actions, more than , COVID testing were performed ; the designated laboratories were increased from two to five, and 12 laboratories activated across the districts. It supports a series of important education sector programs and strengthens the institutional capacity. To improve the teaching and learning environment, the project will build additional furnished classrooms.
A total of 1. The project also supports communication and sensitization campaigns to prevent the spread of COVID, keep girls engaged in learning and out of pregnancy, and get children back to school. The project supports increase access to demand-led skills training. The total number of trainees benefiting from demand-led skills training is 12, with 1, already completing their trainings. In addition, the project is contributing to the development of the first non-formal TVET education policy.
Another achievement is the development of nine competency-based education training curricula which have been developed with the input of industry.
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