By Sallieu S. Kanu
Freetown, Sierra Leone – The Budget Advocacy Network (BAN) on August 11, 2025, raised an alarm over the central government’s continued failure to disburse statutory transfers to local councils for the 2025 fiscal year, warning that the delay is crippling essential service delivery and undermining public confidence in the decentralization process.
Despite legal obligations under the Local Government Act of 2022 and commitments outlined in the national budget, no local council has received any portion of their allocated funds for 2025. Additionally, several councils are still awaiting outstanding payments from the 2024 fiscal year.
Local councils serve as the frontline institutions for delivering critical services such as education, healthcare, agriculture, social welfare, water and sanitation, and rural infrastructure—especially in underserved communities. BAN reports that the lack of funding has left councils financially paralyzed, unable to perform core administrative functions or respond to urgent community needs.
“This persistent failure to release funds is crippling local governance,” said Mr. Abu Brima, Chairman of BAN. “Councils cannot implement community projects or respond to citizens’ needs. It widens the gap between government promises and actual development.”
BAN describes the situation as a systematic sabotage of the decentralization agenda, calling it an injustice to millions of Sierra Leoneans who depend on local councils for vital services. Although councils consistently receive less than 2% of the total national budget, actual disbursements fall even shorter.
In 2024, councils were allocated NLe199.8 million but received only NLe120.9 million—a disbursement rate of just 61%. Only NLe28.9 million was transferred in April, May, and July 2025 as part of the outstanding funds for the previous fiscal year.
For 2025, the initial budget allocation of NLe344.1 million was later revised to NLe287.4 million in the supplementary budget. Yet, as of August 11, 2025, no disbursement has been made.
BAN is urging the Ministry of Finance to immediately release all outstanding disbursements to local councils and publish a transparent and time-bound schedule of transfers, detailing amounts due to each council.
The organization also calls on Parliament, the Public Accounts Committee, and citizens to demand greater accountability and transparency in the allocation and use of public funds.
“The promise of decentralization will remain an illusion unless local governments are empowered with timely and adequate resources to meet the needs of the people,” Mr. Brima added.