IMF Staff Country Reports

Sierra Leone: Request for An Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility-Press Release; Debt Sustainability Analysis; Staff Statement; and Statement by the Executive Director for Sierra Leone

December 18, 2018

Download PDF

Preview Citation

Format: Chicago

Sierra Leone: Request for An Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility-Press Release; Debt Sustainability Analysis; Staff Statement; and Statement by the Executive Director for Sierra Leone, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2018) accessed November 6, 2024

Summary

Sierra Leone is a fragile state. Since emerging from a decade-long civil war in 2001, the country has made notable economic progress but has also suffered occasional setbacks, such as the Ebola Virus Disease epidemic of 2014. A three-year ECF arrangement was approved June 2017 to help address Sierra Leone’s macroeconomic weaknesses—in particular, low revenue, elevated inflation, high public debt, and inadequate foreign exchange reserve buffers—which had been exacerbated by the Ebola crisis and a collapse in iron ore prices (Country Report No. 17/154). However, the program went off track shortly after approval as lackluster revenue performance and expenditure overruns led to a budget cash shortfall and a growing stock of budget arrears. With the authorities unable to take corrective actions ahead of the March 2018 presidential elections the first review of the program was put on hold. Since then elections have produced a new government, marking the first change of power in ten years. This government has taken a number of corrective actions over the last six months with the aim of reviving the program engagement with the IMF.

Subject: Budget planning and preparation, Expenditure, External debt, Fiscal policy, Public debt, Public financial management (PFM), Revenue mobilization

Keywords: BSL Act, Budget planning and preparation, CR, Global, IMF quota, ISCR, Program goal, Program projection, Public finance management, Revenue mobilization, Staff appraisal

Publication Details

  • Pages:

    95

  • Volume:

    ---

  • DOI:

    ---

  • Issue:

    ---

  • Series:

    Country Report No. 2018/371

  • Stock No:

    1SLEEA2018001

  • ISBN:

    9781484391396

  • ISSN:

    1934-7685

You May Also Be Interested In...

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia: First Review Under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement, Request for Modification of Performance Criteria, and Financing Assurances Review-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

November 4, 2024

Kenya: Seventh and Eighth Reviews Under the Extended Fund Facility and Extended Credit Facility Arrangements, Requests for Reduction of Access, Augmentation and Rephasing of Access Under the Arrangements, Modifications of Performance Criteria, Waiver of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria, and Review Under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility Arrangement-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Kenya

November 1, 2024

Mexico: 2024 Article IV Consultation and Review Under the Flexible Credit Line Arrangement-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Mexico

November 1, 2024

Colombia: Technical Assistance Report-Scoping Mission to Develop Macroeconomic Forecasting Capacity at the Autonomous Committee for the Fiscal Rule (CARF)

November 1, 2024