Sierra Leone

Which countries lead in budget accountability? Which ones need improvement? Explore our data and recommendations for each of the 120 countries assessed.
Open Budget Survey Results

Public Participation

31

Budget Oversight

42

Transparency

39

Open Budget Survey 2019

Government budget decisions – what taxes to levy, what services to provide, and how much debt to take on – affect how equal a society is and the well-being of its people, including whether the most disadvantaged will have real opportunities for a better life. It is critical that governments inform and engage the public on these vital decisions that impact their lives.

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The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world’s only independent, comparative and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally accepted criteria to assess public access to central government budget information; formal opportunities for the public to participate in the national budget process; and the role of budget oversight institutions such as the legislature and auditor in the budget process.

The survey helps local civil society assess and confer with their government on the reporting and use of public funds. This 7th edition of the OBS covers 117 countries.

Summary
Country Specific Assessments
Country summary EN
pdf, 231.07 KB
Questionnaire EN
pdf, 770.98 KB
39 /100

This part of the OBS measures public access to information on how the central government raises and spends public resources. It assesses the online availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness of eight key budget documents using 109 equally weighted indicators and scores each country on a scale of 0 to 100. A transparency score of 61 or above indicates a country is likely publishing enough material to support informed public debate on the budget.

Transparency in Sierra Leone compared to others

Global Average
45
Ghana
54
Sierra Leone
39
Liberia
38
São Tomé e Príncipe
24
Nigeria
21
Equatorial Guinea
5
Gambia
4
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Sierra Leone’s ranking: 71 of 117 countries

0
100

How has the transparency score for Sierra Leone changed over time?

39
2012
52
2015
38
2017
39
2019
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Public availability of budget documents in Sierra Leone

Key
Available to the Public
Published Late, or Not Published Online, or Produced for Internal Use Only
Not Produced
Scroll
Document 2012 2015 2017 2019
Pre-Budget Statement
Executive’s Budget Proposal
Enacted Budget
Citizens Budget
In-Year Reports
Mid-Year Review
Year-End Report
Audit Report

How comprehensive is the content of the key budget documents that Sierra Leone makes available to the public?

Key
61-100 / 100
41-60 / 100
1-40 / 100
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Key budget document Document purpose and contents Fiscal year assessed Document content score
Pre-Budget Statement Discloses the broad parameters of fiscal policies in advance of the Executive's Budget Proposal; outlines the government's economic forecast, anticipated revenue, expenditures, and debt. 2019 Published Late
Executive’s Budget Proposal Submitted by the executive to the legislature for approval; details the sources of revenue, the allocations to ministries, proposed policy changes, and other information important for understanding the country's fiscal situation. 2019 46
Enacted Budget The budget that has been approved by the legislature. 2019 61
Citizens Budget A simpler and less technical version of the government's Executive’s Budget Proposal or the Enacted Budget, designed to convey key information to the public. 2018 Not Produced
In-Year Reports Include information on actual revenues collected, actual expenditures made, and debt incurred at different intervals; issued quarterly or monthly. 2017 & 2018 33
Mid-Year Review A comprehensive update on the implementation of the budget as of the middle of the fiscal year; includes a review of economic assumptions and an updated forecast of budget outcomes. 2018 Internal Use
Year-End Report Describes the situation of the government's accounts at the end of the fiscal year and, ideally, an evaluation of the progress made toward achieving the budget's policy goals. 2017 45
Audit Report Issued by the supreme audit institution, this document examines the soundness and completeness of the government's year-end accounts. 2016 62

Sierra Leone’s transparency score of 39 in the OBS 2019 is near its score in 2017.

What changed in OBS 2019?

Sierra Leone has increased the availability of budget information by:

Publishing the Enacted Budget and Year-End Report online.
However, Sierra Leone has decreased the availability of budget information by:
Failing to produce the Citizens Budget for the Executive's Budget Proposal or Enacted Budget.
Reducing the information provided in the Executive’s Budget Proposal by removing figures on total domestic debt and tax expenditures.

Recommendations

Sierra Leone should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:

Publish the Pre-Budget Statement and Mid-Year Review online in a timely manner. The Pre-Budget Statement should be published online at least one month before the Executive's Budget Proposal is submitted to Parliament, while the Mid-Year Review should be published no later than three months after the mid-point of the fiscal year.
Produce and publish the Citizens Budget for the Executive's Budget Proposal or Enacted Budget online in a timely manner. While Sierra Leone did produce and publish citizens versions of the Supplementary Budget and Audit Report during the research period for this OBS, it did not publish a simplified version of either the Executive's Budget Proposal or Enacted Budget.
Include expenditure and policy information in the Executive's Budget Proposal. This includes publishing estimates of all expenditure by administrative, economic, and functional classification for previous, current, and future years, as well as estimates that show how all new policy proposals affect expenditures and revenues.
Include debt information and detailed actual outcomes for expenditures in the Year-End Report. Information on domestic debt should also be included in the Year-End Report.
Improve the comprehensiveness of the In-Year Reports.
31 /100

Transparency alone is insufficient for improving governance. Inclusive public participation is crucial for realizing the positive outcomes associated with greater budget transparency.

The OBS also assesses the formal opportunities offered to the public for meaningful participation in the different stages of the budget process. It examines the practices of the central government’s executive, the legislature, and the supreme audit institution (SAI) using 18 equally weighted indicators, aligned with the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency’s Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policies , and scores each country on a scale from 0 to 100.

Sierra Leone has a public participation score of 31 (out of 100).

Public participation in Sierra Leone compared to others

Global Average
14
Sierra Leone
31
Nigeria
22
Ghana
15
Gambia
9
Liberia
6
Equatorial Guinea
0
São Tomé e Príncipe
0
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

For more information, see here for innovative public participation practices around the world.

Extent of opportunities for public participation in the budget process

80
/100
Formulation
(executive)
0
/100
Approval
(legislature)
0
/100
Implementation
(executive)
33
/100
Audit
(supreme audit institution)
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Sierra Leone's Ministry of Finance has established pre-budget deliberations during budget formulation but, to further strengthen public participation in the budget process, should also prioritize the following actions:

Pilot mechanisms to monitor budget implementation.
Actively engage with vulnerable and underrepresented communities, directly or through civil society organizations representing them.

Sierra Leone's Parliament should prioritize the following actions:

Allow members of the public or civil society organizations to testify during its hearings on the budget proposal prior to its approval.
Allow members of the public or civil society organizations to testify during its hearings on the Audit Report.

Sierra Leone's Audit Service has established mechanisms for the public to assist in developing its audit program. It should prioritize the following actions to improve public participation in the budget process:

Establish formal mechanisms for the public to contribute to relevant audit investigations.
42 /100

The OBS also examines the role that legislatures and supreme audit institutions (SAIs) play in the budget process and the extent to which they provide oversight; each country is scored on a scale from 0 to 100 based on 18 equally weighted indicators. In addition, the survey collects supplementary information on independent fiscal institutions (see Box).

The legislature and supreme audit institution in Sierra Leone, together, provide limited oversight during the budget process, with a composite oversight score of 42 (out of 100). Taken individually, the extent of each institution’s oversight is shown below:

Legislative oversight

0
28
100
weak

Audit oversight

0
72
100
adequate
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Sierra Leone's Parliament provides weak oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and weak oversight during the implementation stage. To improve oversight, the following actions should be prioritized:

The legislature should debate budget policy before the Executive’s Budget Proposal is tabled and approve recommendations for the upcoming budget.
The Executive’s Budget Proposal should be submitted to legislators at least two months before the start of the budget year.
Legislative committees should examine the Executive’s Budget Proposal and publish reports with their analysis online.
A legislative committee should examine in-year budget implementation and publish reports with their findings online.
In practice, ensure the legislature is consulted before the executive shifts funds specified in the Enacted Budget between administrative units; spends any unanticipated revenue; or reduces spending due to revenue shortfalls during the budget year.
A legislative committee should examine the Audit Report and publish a report with their findings online.

To strengthen its independence and improve audit oversight by Sierra Leone's Audit Service, the following actions are recommended:

Ensure the supreme audit institution has adequate funding to perform its duties, as determined by an independent body (e.g., the legislature or judiciary).
Ensure audit processes are reviewed by an independent agency.

The emerging practice of establishing independent fiscal institutions

Sierra Leone’s independent fiscal institution (IFI) is the Parliamentary Budget Office. Its independence is not set in law, and it reports to the legislature. It publishes an assessment of the official fiscal forecasts produced by the executive.

*The indicators for IFIs are *not* scored

Methodology

  • Only documents published and events, activities, or developments that took place through 31 December 2018 were assessed in the OBS 2019.
     
  • The survey is based on a questionnaire completed in each country by an independent budget expert:
    Abu Bakarr Kamara
    Budget Advocacy Network (BAN)
    22E Carlton Carew Road, Freetown, Sierra Leone
    [email protected]
  • To further strengthen the research, each country’s draft questionnaire is also reviewed by an anonymous independent expert, and in Sierra Leone by a representative of the Ministry of Finance.

 

Past reports
Years
Language
Country summary EN
PDF, en
Questionnaire EN
PDF, en
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN