Finance Minister launches SL Economic Update 2020

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In her opening remarks during the launch, Gayle Martin, World Bank Country Manager said this year’s edition also looked at the analysis of the impact of the country’s economic development as they presented the macro fiscal development of the past year. “While many of these developments are COVID-19 related, many are not, and we also want to have an appreciation of these non COVID-19 related factors, as many of them are structural and will impact on the recovery phase of the post COVID-19 period”, she said. The World Bank, she said, recently completed its five year strategy, and in that strategy, gender is one of the main cross cutting themes alongside digital development and governance.

“This is because women’s contribution to the economy in Sierra Leone is well below its potential, and early fertility is constraining the economic possibility frontier for the women of Sierra Leone”, Martin said. The Sierra Leone Economic Update 2020 was prepared by a joint World Bank team from the Macroeconomics, Trade & Investment and Education Global Practices. This update comprises the economic outlook for Sierra Leone and a special chapter on educating girls. Part I discusses recent economic developments, the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and the growth prospects under different scenarios regarding the spread of COVID-19. It discusses the potential channels of transmission, provides estimates of spill overs, and emphasises necessary policy responses.

Part II of this update highlights the economic gains that could be achieved from ending child marriage and promoting girls’ education. It also discusses a range of measures that could be undertaken by the government following the recent decision to allow pregnant girls to stay in or return to school. In his welcome address, Francisco Galrao Carneiro, Acting Regional Director, EFI, World Bank said, as in other African countries, adolescent girls continue to face a high rate of child marriage, child bearing and low educational attainment. This special topic on the report, he said, emphasises the important topic on women empowerment as highlighted in both the Government’s National Plan and the World Bank Country Partnership Framework.

“World Bank is grateful to the authorities for their outstanding support and collaboration during the preparation of the report, in particular to the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance, by providing the necessary information for conducting the analysis. They were fully involved in the review process from the beginning of the concept stage to the completion of the report”, Carneiro said. He concluded by reiterating the World Bank’s commitment to support the government’s development agenda and hope that the report will stimulate further policy discussions. Delivering his keynote address, Minister of Finance Jacob Jusu Saffa thanked the Bank for continuously producing thought provoking publications, noting that this specific publication is quite timely, as the country continues to grapple with the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19.

“This can never be a more apt topic considering the value that this administration puts on women and girls amid the challenges it faced daily. As it emphasises the importance of gender equality, indeed we can grow our economy through gender parity, as by closing gender gaps they are crucial for achieving the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development Goals especially goal 5, 8, 2, 1,3, 10”, he said. The report stated 28.2% of girls aged 12-18 are married as children or teenagers, 29.1 % have their first child before they are 18 years, which Minister Saffa said is definitely not good for school completion, as the report further estimates that 50% of our girls complete lower secondary school and 20% senior secondary school education.

“The underlining cause is poverty, which causes early marriage, child bearing and high school dropout among the girls, which all leads to poor health and makes them more or less likely to be employed so therefore less income and then poverty, it is a dangerous spiral”, he said. “We should have operations that will keep our girls in school, which is the best way out; to this end, intervention like the boarding home facilities”.

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