The Fiscal Risk Management Division of the Ministry of Finance has capacitated staff of about 35 State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) on the FY2025 Budget preparation and presentation.

The workshop, held on Thursday, 25th July 2024, at the Ministry of Finance main Conference Hall, George Street in Freetown, attracted senior staff of the various SOEs.

The Director of the Fiscal Risk Division, Dr. Alhassan Mansaray, welcoming participants, explained that the training is to introduce new areas in the budget of SOEs that will feed into the National Budget in line with the National Plan and consistent with the Big Five agenda.

He noted that SOEs should be able to contribute positively to economic growth, and not the other way round, wherein year in and year out, where they incur losses.

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He furthered that the ministry has developed a monitoring framework to monitor the progress of these SOEs.

In his statement, the Director of the Budget Bureau, Tasiima Jah, said, the Ministry of Finance has identified a critical area that requires immediate attention to the budget preparation processes of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

He continued that SOEs play a crucial role in the economy, providing essential services in critical sectors, and their budgeting practices have often fallen short of standards.

The Director of Budget emphasized, that the deficiency of SOEs not only impacts their operations but poses risks to the broader economic stability.

The training, he says, outlines a comprehensive program designed to address these challenges.

The Deputy Financial Secretary, Administration (DFS Admin) Mamie Miatta Kallon, in her keynote address, stated that the training session signifies the strengthening of financial governance and operational transparency across all sectors.

She continued that guiding institutions through fiscal challenges and opportunities will help to meet the obligations effectively and efficiently.

Madam Kallon emphasized that failure to prepare, present, and submit the annual budget to the Ministry of Finance will jeopardise the ability to allocate resources judiciously, hamper operational planning, and undermine public trust.

The representative of the National Commission for Privatization, Gbassay Alpha Esq. noted that the commission plays its supervisory role to these SOEs and therefore understands the many challenges they are facing, hence the importance of this meeting, which would enable them to curtail some of those challenges in these institutions.

In an online PowerPoint presentation, ITufan, the World Bank representative, explains key areas that should be cascaded into the budget relying on the standard mark framework that has been set.

He further gave a breakdown of the income statement, items for ongoing service/activities, and newly planned services/activities.

He gave an in-depth Analysis of the industry sector, an overview of the sector, the competitive position of the relevant SOEs in the sector, sectoral developments, changes, legal and regulatory framework affecting the sector, opportunities and threats emerging in the sector, and possible measures to improve competitive position in the sector.

In his presentation, the senior financial analyst FRMD, Aaron Tommy Brown, explained the relevance of the medium-term expenditure Framework (MTEF), which he said was adopted in 2021 as an effective and efficient system of budgeting that ensures optimum allocation of resources.

He explained the goal of the MTEF is to establish a clear and coherent forward-looking Financial Roadmap, for State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) that aligns with the Government’s objectives, national priorities, and long-term economic and social objectives of the country.