President Dr Julius Maada Bio
President Dr Julius Maada Bio formally opened the Fourth Session of the Sixth Parliament of the Second Republic at the Parliament Building, Tower Hill, restating his administration’s commitment to accelerated service delivery, economic transformation and inclusive national development.
In a review of the state of the economy, the President admitted that global headwinds remained persistent but stated that prudent fiscal management and reforms have bolstered domestic revenue mobilisation, boosted investor confidence, and helped to stabilise macroeconomic indicators. Earlier this year, President Bio declared 2026 to be the “year of action”. But with the year drawing to a close, many ordinary Sierra Leoneans say the much-hyped year of action has brought little more than economic pain to households across the country.
The President told Parliament that GDP had grown by 4.6 percent in 2024 and 4.8 percent in 2025, while annual inflation was down to 4.4 per cent at the end of 2025. He also highlighted a remarkable increase in rice production, with 1.44 million metric tons in 2025, which he attributed to increasing cultivation, the use of improved crop varieties, and the ongoing implementation of agricultural support programs. But many citizens find those numbers abstract. “These are all on paper,” say critics, “while the reality is the persistent hardship that the government seems to be running out of ideas to fix.”
Prices of essentials and the cost of living generally continue to weigh on households, fueling scepticism about whether official gains are translating into tangible improvements for ordinary people.
President Bio outlined a new set of priorities for the coming year: increasing food production, expanding electricity and water supplies, completing priority infrastructure projects, improving health and education services, and creating more jobs and business opportunities for young people and women. But for a people suffering years of economic woes, the new promises have done little to dispel doubts over the administration’s ability to deliver.
Critics say President Bio ran on a promise to tackle economic hardship when he contested the APC in 2018, but after eight years in office, many Sierra Leoneans say the government has failed to ease the burden of the cost of living. For these actors, the “year of action” was not a watershed moment, but rather a continuation or even an escalation of the economic challenges facing the country.
