By Saidu Jalloh, D.S
The Ministry of Information and Civic Education (MoICE) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry have presented their Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposals during the ongoing Bilateral Budget Hearings at the Ministry of Finance.
The hearings for the two ministries were chaired by senior budget officials and key stakeholders, with both ministries outlining their 2026 performance, achievements, challenges and priorities for 2027.
For MoICE, Permanent Secretary Andrew Kamara Esq. made the case for funding, while Chief Director Alimamy Lahai led the presentation. The ministry outlined programmes on civic education, citizen engagement, strategic communications, professional training and policy development.
Among the proposed civic programmes are the National Civic Day Series at NLe5 million, the fourth edition of the Salone Civic Festival at NLe5 million, Presidential Town Hall at NLe1 million, and civic engagement for the Population and Housing Census at NLe1.2 million.
The ministry is seeking a total capital expenditure of NLe101.23 million for 2027. Major allocations include NLe42.28 million for construction of the National Records and Archive Centre, NLe25 million for National Digital Migration, NLe15.54 million for fencing the SLBC perimeter at Leicester Peak, NLe13.8 million for Government Outreach through a mobile audio-visual PA system, NLe2.5 million for transformation of the Daily Mail, NLe1.225 million for the National Fund for Public Interest Media and NLe890,000 for International Media Commemorations.
For the Ministry of Trade and Industry, officials reported that its agencies generated NLe254.2 million in revenue in the first half of 2026 — comprising NLe162.6 million from Integrated Trade Services, NLe59.1 million from the National Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NLe17.6 million from the Produce Monitoring Board, NLe9.6 million from the Sierra Leone Standards Bureau and NLe5.3 million from the Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Company.
The ministry listed formalisation of the informal sector, strengthening quality infrastructure, regional integration and trade facilitation, implementation of Manufacturers’ Round Table recommendations, MSME support and development of key trade policies as priorities for 2027.
Trade and Industry presented a total FY2027 budget of NLe36.06 million against a recurrent ceiling of NLe9.15 million, leaving an excess of NLe26.91 million. The largest share — NLe26.88 million — is proposed for the Office of the Permanent Secretary, followed by NLe3.08 million for the Directorate of Policy, Planning and Research and NLe2.97 million for Export Promotion and Regional Integration.
Panel members sought clarifications on justification for funding weekly press conferences and whether revenue figures presented represented actual performance or projections. MoICE officials responded and pledged to provide further evidence.
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