Civil society group demands Sierra Leone finance minister's sacking
The CSOs Consortium on Public Accountability wants Finance Minister Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura removed immediately, a call a Politico SL guest writer says is misplaced.
The CSOs Consortium on Public Accountability has called for the immediate dismissal of Sierra Leone's Minister of Finance, Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura. A Politico SL guest writer, Foday M. Daboh, argues the statement confuses economic hardship with mismanagement.
Daboh says the 2020 to 2024 period brought COVID-19 supply disruptions, food and fuel inflation linked to the Russia-Ukraine war, global monetary tightening and capital flight from low-income economies. He points to Ghana's external debt default in 2022, Zambia's protracted restructuring and Nigeria's naira depreciation, while Sierra Leone did not default and kept its IMF programme.
He credits the minister with disciplined macro-fiscal management, citing Bank of Sierra Leone statements that inflation fell after tightening and central bank deficit financing was curtailed. He also says the country has no Eurobond exposure, its debt is mostly concessional, and it remains at high risk of debt distress.