Chief Minister David Sengeh
By Mohamed Kamara
The Office of the Chief Minister has recorded one of the highest expenditure overruns within the General Services Sector for the first half of the 2025 financial year, according to the Ministry of Finance’s mid-year budget performance report.
The report reveals that the Office of the Chief Minister spent NLe27.41 million against a budgeted amount of NLe13.75 million, resulting in an overrun of about NLe13.66 million.
The excess expenditure was mainly attributed to the implementation of delegated presidential assignments, including the Ministerial Retreat, performance appraisals, and payments made through the Office of the Chief Minister to the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) for the implementation of Rapid Community Development Initiative Projects identified by rural communities.
An additional NLe5 million was also spent on implementing recommendations from the Cross-Party Report on Electoral Systems and Management Bodies Review.
Overall, the General Services Sector, which consists of more than twenty key governance institutions including the Office of the President, Office of the Vice President, Judiciary, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, recorded total spending of NLe841.27 million in the first half of FY2025.
This figure exceeded the approved budget of NLe463.68 million by NLe377.60 million, representing a significant overrun. The sector is responsible for the general administration of the state and ensuring effective governance.
The Ministry of Public Administration and Public Affairs spent NLe7.61 million in the first half of the year compared to its budget of NLe5.67 million, resulting in an overrun of NLe1.94 million. The increase was largely due to costs associated with hosting the Third Africa High-Level Forum on South–South and Triangular Cooperation for Sustainable Development in Freetown.
Similarly, the Office of the Secretary to the Vice President spent NLe20.89 million against a budgeted NLe15.64 million, exceeding its allocation by NLe5.25 million. The excess was mainly due to payments of floating and standing imprests for the Vice President, settlement of outstanding EFT allocations, and salary subventions to the Sierra Leone Compact Development Unit for the period July to December 2025.
The Judiciary of Sierra Leone also exceeded its budget by NLe2.49 million, with an actual expenditure of NLe17.49 million against the budgeted NLe15 million. The additional spending was mainly for a research survey on the Sierra Leone court system, aimed at improving case management and trial efficiency.
In the same vein, the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice recorded a total expenditure of NLe33.26 million, surpassing its NLe19.17 million budget by NLe14.10 million. The increase was mainly due to payments made to international law firms such as Herbert Smith Freehills and Cohen Seglias, which represented Sierra Leone in international legal cases.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation also reported an overrun, spending NLe146.74 million compared to its budget of NLe117.74 million, an excess of NLe29.08 million. The main factors behind the overspending were increased statutory travel costs, the posting and recall of diplomatic staff, procurement of vehicles for foreign missions, and rental payments.
Despite these overruns, the Ministry of Finance emphasized that most of the additional expenditures were related to critical governance and administrative activities. The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability in the management of public resources across all government institutions.
