The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED) convened the Third Quarter 2025 Ministerial Development Partnership Committee (DEPAC) meeting on Thursday at the Foreign Service Academy, Tower Hill, bringing together senior government officials, development partners, and members of the diplomatic and financial communities to deliberate on new approaches to mobilize capital for Sierra Leone’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2024–2030. The forum — held under the theme “Exploring Opportunities for Raising Capital Investment for Sierra Leone – Lessons from Seville (FfD4)” — focused on pragmatic ways to expand financing sources, improve public investment efficiency, and translate international commitments into locally actionable strategies.
The meeting was co-chaired by Madam Kenyeh Barlay, Minister of Planning and Economic Development; Madam Seraphine Wakana, United Nations Resident Coordinator; and Mr Abdu Muwonge, World Bank Country Manager. In her keynote address, Minister Barlay emphasised the urgency of rethinking the country’s financing architecture amid tightening fiscal space, global uncertainties and falling concessional flows. She underscored MoPED’s proactive engagement in strategic partnerships and international forums such as the Seville Financing for Development Conference to glean ideas and instruments that can be adapted to Sierra Leone’s context.
“We must translate international dialogue into local action — by leveraging private sector participation, improving public investment efficiency, and diversifying financing sources to deliver the Big Five Game Changers,” Minister Barlay said. She announced that MoPED has secured €200,000 from the Government of Germany to strengthen coordination mechanisms and confirmed that the Big Five Game Changer Dashboard, being developed in partnership with UNICEF, will be launched on 1st December 2025. The dashboard is intended to provide a consolidated monitoring tool to track progress on the government’s priority initiatives.
Presenting the macroeconomic and fiscal outlook, Hon. Sheku Fantamadi Bangura, Minister of Finance, described an economy that has demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of global headwinds. He highlighted a steep decline in inflation from 54.5 per cent in October 2023 to 5.36 per cent in September 2025, attributing the improvement to coordinated fiscal and monetary management. The exchange rate, he added, has been largely stable, supported by disciplined expenditure controls and stronger domestic revenue performance.
Minister Bangura said that fiscal consolidation under the current reform program has improved debt sustainability and restored investor confidence. “Our priority is to sustain this macroeconomic stability while creating fiscal space for productive investment,” he stated, explaining that policy emphasis will be on enhancing tax compliance, broadening the revenue base, and accelerating the digitalisation of public finance systems. He noted that the forthcoming 2025 National Budget will be framed around the theme “Enhancing Traditional and Innovative Sources of Domestic Revenue Mobilisation to Finance the Big Five Game Changers,” with a focus on efficiency, equity and accountability in public spending.
Speakers at the forum repeatedly stressed that improving the efficiency of public investment is essential to achieving MTNDP targets. “Every leone spent must deliver maximum impact,” Minister Bangura emphasised, stressing the need for stronger project prioritisation, rigorous appraisal and tighter oversight to minimise waste and cost overruns.
Dr Sheka Bangura, Director of Planning, Policy and Research at MoPED, delivered a presentation on “Exploring Options for Raising Development Finance – Lessons from Seville,” in which he argued that the global financing landscape is rapidly evolving and that Sierra Leone must position itself strategically to capture new flows. Drawing on discussions from the Seville Financing for Development Conference, he identified four priority areas for action: diversifying funding sources beyond traditional aid; strengthening domestic capital markets to absorb and channel private savings into productive investment; deepening public–private partnerships (PPPs); and leveraging innovative financial instruments such as green bonds, diaspora bonds and blended finance.
Dr Bangura warned that relying exclusively on traditional aid will not be sufficient to close financing gaps over the MTNDP horizon. He urged an integrated strategy that mobilises private capital, climate finance, and diaspora resources, while simultaneously enhancing institutional capacity to manage debt and investment portfolios. He also pointed to ongoing domestic reforms aimed at improving resource mobilisation, including better alignment between planning and budgeting systems and expenditure rationalisation.
Mr Alpha Bangura, Director of Public Investment Management at MoPED, set out the government’s ongoing reforms to strengthen the Public Investment Programme (PIP).
He outlined measures to improve project appraisal, reduce inefficiencies and limit cost overruns, including rationalisation of the PIP portfolio, deeper integration of Local Council PIPs, implementation of the 2024 National Public Investment Management Policy (NPIMP), establishment of a Project Preparation Facility to develop bankable projects, and the development of a Public Investment Management Information System (PIMIS). He also noted plans for legislating the full public investment management framework to entrench reforms and accountability mechanisms.
Madam Seraphine Wakana, UN Resident Coordinator, commended Sierra Leone’s stewardship of the macroeconomy and its leadership in implementing the MTNDP. She encouraged sustained collaboration across ministries and with development partners to ensure national priorities are reflected in programming and to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals. “The UN Country Team remains a committed partner, supporting evidence-based planning, transparent monitoring, and policy coherence,” she said.
Mr Abdu Muwonge, the World Bank Country Manager, also praised Sierra Leone’s reform momentum and called for continued efforts to broaden domestic revenue mobilisation, enhance fiscal transparency and strengthen institutional accountability. He said the Bank’s engagement will support resilient economic growth, expanded access to productive jobs and the translation of reform gains into tangible improvements in livelihoods. Mr Muwonge emphasised the value of DEPAC as a coordination platform for converting high-level commitments into operational steps and measurable results.
In his closing remarks, Mr Ambrose James, Development Secretary at MoPED, expressed appreciation to participating ministries, development partners and technical teams for their constructive engagement. He reiterated the government’s commitment to revitalising Sector Working Groups (SWGs) as part of a broader coordination reform agenda. As an immediate operational step, two pilot SWGs will be jointly coordinated by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and development partners to strengthen results-driven coordination, enhance accountability and ensure DEPAC remains an active engine for delivering the MTNDP and the Big Five Game Changers.
The meeting ended with a collective recommitment by government and partners to deepen coordination, uphold fiscal discipline and expand access to sustainable financing. Delegates agreed that a combination of improved domestic resource mobilisation, smarter public investment management, and the deployment of innovative financing instruments will be necessary to bridge financing gaps and realise Sierra Leone’s development ambitions over the MTNDP period.
