By Alieu Amara Suwu
Office of the Vice President has, on Monday, 3rd October 2022, presented a total budget of 63,055,344.40 million new Leones to the Ministry of Finance for the 2023 financial year though their budget ceiling is Nle 41,425,844.40.
Under this office there are several units such as the Office of the Secretary to the Vice President (OSVP) that has requested for over 46 million new Leones. In 2022, OSVP was allocated Nle 14, 218,000.00. Other units, like Scaling Up Nutrition requests for 1,000,000.00, Sierra Leone Compact Development Unit 2,989,235.20, Public Private Partnership Unit (PPPU), 1,995,862.00, Sierra Leone Extractive Industry Transparency Initiatives (SLEITI), 861,100.00 and National Early Warning & Response Mechanism Coordinating, 10,124,100.00.
Stating their deliverables, Swalihu K. Jusu, Principal Assistant to Secretary to Vice President, noted that they are to convene inter ministerial meetings on Local Government and undertake periodic monitoring of Local Government issues and implementation of projects, undertake monitoring of MDA activities in the delivery of services, monitor disaster mitigation, adaptation and management in order to reduce the effect of disaster on the people of the country, production of 2022 SLEITI annual report and dissemination of the 2020 and 2021 report, support and coordinate Sierra Leone Compact Development programmes, signing of Minimum Challenge Corporation Compact, undertake awareness activities and sustain support with partners to Local Councils to reduce the rate of malnutrition and work on activities to monitor and alert the Government of potential threats to co-existence.
Defending the budget, he said, the Office of the Secretary to the Vice President will spend over 16 million for administrative and operating cost, one and million more will be for Government civil society dialogue series and official retreat, five million for Government contribution to bereaved families and over 19 million for the Vice President’s participation to international and local programmes and over two million for quarterly meetings with community leaders in all districts through periodic visitation.
He noted that the budget should not be looked at a face value but for its intended purposes. He explained that reason for that amount is to be able to solve unexpected things or event not planned like when there was no policy on how to carry on with state funerals and the trip of the Vice President to Senegal for a study which was not expected.
Other units inter alia mentioned also explained reasons for the budget they have presented.
Tasima Jah, Director of Budget, Ministry of Finance, said the demand from the Secretary’s office is huge more so when the Government priority for next year is on specific deliverables. He noted again that he is expecting salient deliverables from the Office.
