The Ministry of Finance in Sierra Leone and IMF are rolling out GFSM training for staff in key offices.

It is getting technical support from the Government Finance Division, Statistics Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The financial partners are doing Government Financial Statistics Manual (GFSM) 2014 training for staff of the Ministry of Finance, Accountant General’s Department, National Revenue Authority, Bank of Sierra Leone, Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and Statistics Sierra Leone through the Budget Bureau.

In his statement, the Director of the Budget Bureau, Tasima Jah, stated that this two-week training programme, which commenced on Tuesday, 22nd July 2025, at the Conference Room of the Ministry, was made possible through a request for Technical Assistance (TA) support to enhance data quality to inform evidence-based policy decisions.

Director Jah expressed eagerness to utilise the Government Financial Statistics Manual (GFSM) 2014 for policy analysis and reporting, by stating that transitioning to the GFSM 2014 framework will also strengthen IMF program monitoring.

In a powerpoint presentation, Robert Osudi Economist and Emmanuel Ramathuba Senior Economist from Government Finance Division, Statistics Department IMF, explained the overview of the Manual, stocks and flows, economic flows, transactions, other economic flows, revenues, expenditures, financial assets, non- produce assets, domestic, external, balance sheet, statement of sources and use of cash, taxes, grant types, expenses, recording and economic classification.

During this period of the mission in the country, they will engage bilaterally with the Public Debt Division, the Financial Decentralisation Division, the National Revenue Authority, the Bank of Sierra Leone, the Accountant General’s Department, and the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.

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