The Government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Finance has agreed to the reinstatement of COVID-19 allowances as salary increase, and the weekly fuel allocation of 45 Litres to eligible Health Workers to cover the period July to December 2022.

This is in response to earlier strike notice the Sierra Leone Medical and Dental Association (SLMDA) informed the government about, if both demands are not met. It is also as a result of previous meetings held between the relevant authorities.

“In relation to the above, the Ministry hereby conveys the approval of the Hon. Minister of Finance to allocate financial resources to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation as follows:

i. Reinstatement of previous COVID-19 Allowances as Salary Increase with effect from September 2022 amounting to NLe 20.85 million (Old Le 20.85 billion), and

ii. Extra-budgetary allocation of NLe 93 million (Old Le 9.3 billion) to cover weekly allocation of 45 Litres of fuel to eligible Health Workers to cover the period July to December 2022,” the Ministry of Finance stated.

The Ministry further informed that, “Please submit relevant documents including PETS Form 1 and Payment Vouchers for each hospital for the processing of this document on a quarterly basis, starting from the third quarter FY2022 of NLe 4.698 million (Old Le 4.698 billion).”

“The utilisation of this benefit should not be in cash but actual delivery of fuel to the eligible Health Workers with retained evidence for post-utilisation audit verification,” they added.

Check out the full press release below: