The Fiscal Risk Management Division of the Ministry of Finance has capacitated about 35 staff in state owned enterprises (SOEs).

The staff were trained on the budget preparation and presentation of 2025 financial year.

The workshop, held on Thursday, 25th July 2024, at the Ministry of Finance Conference Hall at George Street in Freetown, attracted very senior staff.

The Director of the Fiscal Risk Division, Dr. Alhassan Mansaray, welcomed participants, explaining to them that the training was meant to introduce them to the new areas on budget preparation by SOEs.

The SOEs’ budgets will feed into the national budget in line with the national plan and government’s Big Five agenda.

He noted that SOEs should be able to contribute positively to economic growth, but not the other way round, in which year-in and year-out, causing losses to be incurred.

He further said that the ministry has developed a monitoring framework to monitor the progress of these SOEs.

In his statement, the Director of the Budget Bureau, Mr Tasiima Jah, said that the Ministry of Finance has identified a critical area that requires immediate attention to the budget preparation processes of SOEs.

He added that SOEs play a crucial role in the economy, providing essential services in critical sectors, and their budgeting practices have often been falling short of standards.

The Director of Budget emphasized that the deficiency of SOEs not only impacts their operations but poses risks to the broader economic stability.

The training, he says, outlines a comprehensive program designed to address these challenges.

The Deputy Financial Secretary, Administration (DFS Admin) Mamie Miatta Kallon, in her keynote address, stated that this training session on the preparation and presentation of the annual budget of these public institutions signifies the strengthening of financial governance and operational transparency across all sectors.

She said “guiding our institutions through fiscal challenges and opportunities will help to meet the obligations effectively and efficiently.”

Madam Kallon emphasized that failure to prepare, present, and submit the annual budget to the Ministry of Finance will jeopardize the ability to allocate resources judiciously, hamper operational planning, and undermine public trust.

The representative of the National Commission for Privatization, Gbassay Alpha Esq., noted that the commission plays its supervisory role to these SOEs and therefore understands the many challenges they are facing, hence the importance of this meeting, which would enable them to curtail some of those challenges in these institutions.

In an online PowerPoint presentation, ITufan, the World Bank representative, explains key areas that should be cascaded into the budget relying on the standard mark framework that has been set.

He further gave a breakdown of the income statement, items for ongoing service/activities, and newly planned services/activities.

He gave an in-depth analysis of the industry sector, an overview of the sector, the competitive position of the relevant SOEs in the sector, sectorial developments, changes, legal and regulatory framework affecting the sector, opportunities and threats emerging in the sector, and possible measures to improve competitive position in the sector.

In his presentation, the senior financial analyst FRMD, Aaron Tommy Brown, explained the relevance of the medium-term expenditure Framework (MTEF), which, he said, was adopted in 2021 as an effective and efficient system of budgeting that ensures optimum allocation of resources.

He explained the goal of the MTEF is to establish a clear and coherent forward-looking financial roadmap, for state owned enterprises (SOEs) that align with the government’s objectives, national priorities, and long-term economic and social objectives of the country.

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