GOVERNMENT OF SIERRA LEONE MINISTRY OF FINANCE PRESS RELEASE The International Monetary Fund Approves Sierra Leone's Economic Performance Under the Extended Credit Facility Programme on 5th June 2023 The Ministry of Finance. in collaboration with the Bank of Sierra Leone and the National Revenue Authority, wish to inform the general public that the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund has, on 5" June 2023, approved the Economic Performance Programme of the Government of Sierra Leone, which will trigger immediate disbursement of about US$20.8 million. It is worth noting that the global economy is currently facing challenges occasioned by unprecedented overlapping multiple crises severely impacting all countries' economic fabric. These crises have manifested into high inflation, depreciation of currencies, deteriorating external accounts, high-interest rates and rising debt levels and vulnerabilities. The crisis has also wo
The government of Sierra Leone has resumed building modernized traffic light systems in Freetown after the Civil War destroyed the automated traffic signal systems in the nation's capital.
Three traffic lights were installed as a test case as part of a pilot project to reinstall the traffic light system that was started during the previous administration. But for unclear reasons, the project was unable to move further.
The closure of the project, according to one school of thought, was caused by the World Bank and the IMF ceasing to finance projects in Sierra Leone after they discovered severe corruption under the previous government.
When a new administration assumed control of the government, they had to persuade the other nations that they were the newcomers and that they were prepared to operate with accountability and transparency.
When it became clear that the New Direction administration was truly headed in the correct direction and that the IMF would have to resume all of its operations in Sierra Leone, the World Bank started supporting projects once again.
If you can remember back a few years, the World Bank gave its approval for a $50 million project to upgrade Freetown's traffic systems. The present government's commitment to combating corruption and leaning toward transparency caused this fund, which was originally intended to be a loan, to be instead awarded as a grant.
Moving forward, I am unable to directly link the World Bank funding that has been used to upgrade Freetown's traffic infrastructure to the current traffic signal installations. But in the municipality of Freetown, there has been a significant building of traffic lights and footbridges.
The freshly built Hillside Bypass Road is where traffic signals were first installed. And currently, another set of traffic signal installation has already been completed around the Main Motor Road to Kinghaman Road junction.
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