By Africa 24

On Thursday, November 21, 2024, MP Alpha Jalloh, a prominent of politician of the opposition APC party, took to the Well of Parliament at Tower Hill in Freetown, making a critique on the 2025 budget.

Representing Falaba District, Hon. Jalloh articulated profound concerns regarding the stark disparity between the government’s optimistic economic projections and the grim realities confronting the people of Sierra Leone, such as the too much of hardship and suffering.

His address was not just a routine political commentary; it was a passionate call to action that has shone a light on the inconsistencies in national statistics.

It exposed the lamentable delays in vital infrastructure projects, and the urgent socio-economic challenges that keep burdening ordinary citizens.

Hon. Jalloh’s scrutiny of the data presented by the Minister of Finance was meticulous as he expressed deep skepticism about the figures released by Statistics Sierra Leone (SSL) questioning their validity and reliability.

Citing examples from the budget speech, he sharply raised doubts about the astonishing claim that Sierra Leone’s GDP could have suddenly risen from $4 billion to $8 billion, thereby elevating GDP per capita from $492 to an implausible $837.

He argued that such dramatic shifts seemed unfounded, especially in light of the continued economic hardships faced by the populace.

In a particularly striking moment, he challenged the assertion that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio had plummeted from 98% in 2023 to a mere 53.4% in 2023, emphasizing that such fluctuations were statistically improbable without significant underlying improvements in the country’s economic fundamentals.

As he juxtaposed the overly positive statistics with the harsh day-to-day struggles of Sierra Leoneans, Hon. Jalloh painted a stark picture of life for the average citizen. He pointed out that the minimum wage has remained static at 800,000 Leones, a figure that scarcely allows workers to meet basic needs. He highlighted the unrelenting price of staple foods, noting that a bag of rice now costs over 1 million old Leones, while the exchange rate hovering above 2,400 old Leones per dollar, thus exacerbating the inflation crisis that many families are grappling with. Additionally, he lamented that the price of fuel has surged to over 27,000 Leones per litre, placing additional strains on already stretched household budgets.

Citing alarming statistics from the World Food Programme, he shared a poignant revelation, that: food insecurity in Sierra Leone now affects a staggering 82% of the population, representing the highest level ever recorded in the country’s history.

Hon. Jalloh, a representative of the APC from Falaba, expressed his deep concern over the persistent youth underemployment rate, which exceeds 70%, fostering a climate of frustration and despair among the younger generation.

Shifting his focus to the critical state of infrastructure, particularly on roads construction, Hon. Jalloh described the situation as a chronic nightmare affecting not only his constituency but also the various regions all across the country.

He spotlighted the highly anticipated Kabala-Falaba-Maya Grogola Road, which has faced tumultuous delays since its inception in 2016, originally budgeted for at $70 million to be built well. The prolonged setbacks have ballooned the project’s total cost to run to a $86 million, with a staggering $56 million still outstanding, but only $30 million has been paid to the contractor.

He did not shy away from criticizing the government’s decision to slash the funding for road construction from $36 million in 2023 to a mere $26 million in 2024, arguing that such cuts only serve to prolong the completion of much-needed infrastructure and hinder socio-economic progress.

In an illustration of the human cost of these infrastructural failings, Hon. Jalloh shared the heartbreaking story of Geneva Kamara, a devoted single mother who tragically lost her life in a road accident while escorting her daughter to enroll at Ernest Bai Koroma University in Makeni. This poignant narrative underscored the urgency of prioritizing road safety and infrastructure development, as he implored both Parliament and the Ministry of Finance to take decisive action to prevent further tragedies from occurring.

Furthermore, he highlighted the existence of ineffective “white elephant” projects in his chiefdom of Dembele Amusa, which is situated in the Koinadugu District. He admonished the government for its failure to fulfill promises made to the people, calling for enhanced accountability in the implementation of various projects.

In conclusion, Hon. Jalloh implored for a more pragmatic and realistic approach to be given to governance and in budgeting. He urged the government to tackle the escalating cost of living by raising the minimum wage and stabilizing food prices. He called for substantial investments in critical infrastructure, emphasizing the need to prioritize the completion of vital roads like the Kabala-Falaba-Maya Grogola and Makeni-Kamakwe-Kabala highways. Above all, he urged the government to ensure that economic statistics should genuinely reflect the daily realities faced by citizens, doing it as a means to restore trust in government institutions.