By Ragan M. Conteh

Parliament of Sierra Leone, through the Clerk’s Office, has informed all MPs from both side of the aisle on the debate on the 2025 budget being submitted by the Minister of Finance last week.

The Debate according to the Clerk’s office in a press statement is set to commence in earnest Thursday 21st November 2024 in the Chambers of parliament.

MPs from both sides will examine the entire budget and how it is projected to reflect on the development and the livelihoods of all Sierra Leoneans.

The budget according to MPs would be deeply looked into especially when some critical MDAs are starved with funds for development.

The Chief Whip of the opposition, Hon Abdul Karim Kamara said “what is normally in the budget is not realistic and it is not reflective on the ground.”

He said as opposition they will be looking at how the government especially MDAs use the monies allocated.

Some opposition MPs said many of the promises made in previous budgets have never been met.

MPs said year in year out the budget allocations are just mere words or documents as they don’t work in the best interest of the masses.

Opposition MPs cited some key MDAs like Standards Bureau, an institution, that they said, is seriously underfunded over the years.

They also spoke about the increase of the wage bill which they said affect the development aspirations meant for the country.

In the other side of the aisle especially the ruling bench in Parliament they appreciated the budget and described it as pro poor budget which aims to salvage the economic situation in the country.

SLPPs said the said budget will solve the perennial problems facing the nation, including the unemployment, infrastructure, healthcare, human development and among others.

What the SLPP MPs alluded to is the fact that Feed Salone project is the flagship of SLPP regime and the budget captures the much needed projections.

Although, The Deputy Speaker said the Feed Salone project is not an immediate problem solver but will succeed through policy framework and in the future it might yield dividend.

In the last Presidential debate, Hon Ibrahim Tawa Conteh said “it is now time for us as a nation to take steps that will solve our challenges.”

He said if all Sierra Leoneans work towards the future, hunger will be a thing of the past.

He said despite the high cost of staple food (rice) in the country, Guinea’s minimum wage per worker cannot buy a bag of rice in Guinea.

He said the high cost of living is a global problem and not only a problem for Sierra Leone.