The Public Debt Management Division of the Ministry of Finance closed a two-week workshop on Friday, July 24, 2026, to refresh the country’s Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) and Medium-Term Debt Strategy (MTDS). The workshop held at Leisure Lodge in Aberdeen, Freetown, was aimed at improving the framework for managing Sierra Leone’s public debt, reducing the risks of borrowing, and ensuring that government borrowing is consistent with long-term economic growth and improved service delivery.
The sessions were attended by stakeholders from the Bank of Sierra Leone, Statistics Sierra Leone, the National Revenue Authority, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, the Accountant General’s Department, various Civil Society Organizations and the Ministry of Finance staff. For two weeks the participants looked at analytical models, reviewed assumptions and projections and discussed policy options to improve the country’s debt management and borrowing strategies.
In the closing session, the Deputy Director of Public Debt, Santigie Charles Conteh, explained the indicators used to measure a country’s debt-carrying capacity and said countries are classified into six categories on the basis of the indicators. In the latest review, Sierra Leone’s debt-carrying capacity was upgraded from weak to medium. Conteh, however, stressed the progress is only temporary. The country also needs to maintain this elevated status for two successive DSA cycles before it can be officially reclassified as having medium debt-carrying capacity.
As Conteh said, reaching the middle ranking and staying there would increase Sierra Leone’s ability to get more financing that could be put into important public services. He also warned that it would take continued policy efforts and adherence to the recommendations of the DSA and MTDS exercises to sustain the gains.
It was recommended that more resources should be generated by improving domestic revenue mobilisation, strengthening fiscal discipline, and optimising the public-private partnership (PPP) framework. Conteh said that better technology was needed to collect revenue and that the government needed to spend more carefully. He also emphasised the importance of economic diversification in supporting sustainable growth and reducing reliance on volatile sources of revenue.
The revised DSA and MTDS are intended to be not only analytical tools but also practical guidance in decisions on government borrowing and public expenditure. Both documents are aimed at ensuring that borrowed funds are used to support key sectors such as education, roads and health and other essential public services and not used to pay off debts at the expense of service delivery.
Abu Bakarr Kamara, National Coordinator of the Budget Advocacy Network (BAN), commended the Ministry of Finance for creating an inclusive process that involved relevant government institutions and civil society actors. He said the engagement was a significant contribution to enhancing macroeconomic stability and public debt management and called for sustained transparency and accountability in the implementation of recommendations of the DSA and MTDS.
Kamara also said a worrying indicator that came up during the workshop is that the debt repayment burden compared to domestic revenue is “not performing as expected.” He urged the government to redouble efforts to increase domestic revenue through cutting tax exemptions, expediting the digitalisation of tax administration and boosting Customs and Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections. “Improved revenue performance is key to ensuring debt sustainability while allowing for investments to drive growth and jobs,” he said.
The workshop helped to align assumptions and policy scenarios in the DSA and MTDS, to explore borrowing options and their implications, and to refine approaches to domestic and external debt management. The dialogue between the ministries, revenue authorities, the central bank and civil society was inclusive and aimed at promoting shared ownership of the resultant strategies and greater oversight of public borrowing.
As Sierra Leone moves forward, the Ministry of Finance and partners are expected to closely monitor progress on recommended reforms and the country’s fiscal trajectory. A combination of stronger domestic revenues, prudent fiscal management, better use of public-private partnerships and policies that support diversified and resilient economic growth is needed to sustain the recent improvement in debt-carrying capacity. The updated DSA and MTDS are well-placed to help steer these efforts and ensure that future borrowing supports development priorities without jeopardising fiscal stability.
