By Sallieu S. Kanu
Freetown, January 2026:A new report by the Institute for Governance Reform (IGR) has laid bare the structural failures in Sierra Leone’s public finance system, arguing that the country’s persistent poverty is not only rooted in corruption and political instability, but in the way large state contracts are captured by business elites, leaving government coffers starved of revenue.
The report, titled “Di Hade Pa Di Case” (Krio for “the heart of the matter”), draws on data from more than 3,400 contracts and interviews with officials from both the All People’s Congress (APC) and Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP). It concludes that institutional culture rarely changes across administrations, with both parties presiding over opaque deals that enrich elites while depriving citizens of basic services.
Toll Road and E-Passport: Case Studies of Revenue Loss
- Wellington–Masiaka Toll Road: Generating an estimated USD 21 million annually, the toll road should have raised USD 172 million over nine years. Yet only USD 1 million reached the National Revenue Authority. With the concession’s investment recovered in just over 10 years, the remaining 16 years of the 27-year deal will funnel surplus revenue almost entirely to the private operator.
- National E-Passport Contract: Between 60,000–70,000 passports are sold each year, raising USD 7–9 million. Despite Sierra Leoneans paying some of the highest passport fees in West Africa (USD 100–180), IGR found no evidence of royalties paid into the state’s consolidated fund. The contract has been renewed multiple times without rebidding or value-for-money assessments.
Findings: A Machinery of Extraction
IGR identifies four strategies by which elites entrench control:
- Financing candidates across both major parties to secure influence regardless of electoral outcomes.
- Structuring contracts around offices rather than individuals, ensuring continuity of extractive deals.
- Exploiting newly appointed officials who enter office financially depleted and inexperienced.
- Influencing sections of the media to suppress scrutiny of controversial contracts.
The report warns that this machinery has normalized and legalized massive procurement losses, persisting across regimes and undermining reform efforts.
Recommendations: Breaking the Cycle
IGR calls for:
- Criminalizing contracts that knowingly cause systemic financial losses.
- Stronger enforcement by the Anti-Corruption Commission and National Public Procurement Authority to ensure transparency.
- Consensus-building across party lines to revisit loss-making deals.
- Civil society and media coalitions to counterbalance elite capture in revenue governance.
- Recognition of international complicity, as foreign firms often deepen institutional weaknesses and facilitate illicit financial outflows.
A Stark Warning
Perhaps most striking is IGR’s observation that none of the current presidential aspirants have adopted an economic governance reform agenda, signaling low political will for change. Without dismantling the entrenched extractive machinery, the report warns, Sierra Leone will continue to struggle to raise sustainable revenue for public programs, leaving citizens to bear the cost of contracts that primarily serve private interests.