Salone should be proud of the quality of its officials – Outgoing IMF Rep

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“Having worked as IMF Economist on many countries across Africa and Asia, Sierra Leone has every right to be proud of the quality of its officials and their dedication to the common good” said Iyabo Masha at her farewell cocktail. As she leaves today Friday 23rd August, 2019 at the end of her tour of duty, the Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said that she has crossed paths with truly remarkable people, in terms of their dedication to the job as well as the respect and honor they brought to their interactions. “They were committed to getting it right – and to doing the right thing”, she said, whilst recognizing the staff of Bank of Sierra Leone and Ministry of Finance that are the focal point of IMF program discussion and interactions. The Civil Society Organization space in the country she said is one of the most active she had come across as they cover a wide range of issues and advocate for the less privileged.

“It is heartwarming to see how engaged they are on issues of the day, and how much they keep government on its toes. This is what makes for a society in which both the ruler and the ruled are aware of their obligations not only to their supporters but to the generality of the population” she said. “My experience in Sierra Leone has taught me that by their advocacy, civil society organizations are an essential check, and they assist the government to get to where citizens want it to be.” She recalled that her most memorable experience of her stay is the time she spent traveling around the country, getting to understand the economic conditions and the lives that people actually live, “not the one we learnt in economics textbooks. My travels have been truly revealing.” As development practitioners, she urged her colleagues working in the country that human beings are the ultimate beneficiaries or casualties of their policies. “We owe it to ourselves and future generations to craft a society that is inclusive, spreads prosperity to the generality of its population, creates jobs, invests heavily in human and physical capital, and protects the environment.” She concluded by saying that the road may sometimes be rough, and the goals sometimes seem out of reach. But with policy discipline, cooperation of development partners, continuous respect for property rights of both local and foreign investors, I see a huge flood light at the end of the tunnel. The opportunities should not be missed” she hoped. Madam Masha served from 2015 to 2019 and four years down the line, more than US$294 million was disbursed under three different IMF lending programs. The past four years have also witnessed a huge expansion in IMF capacity building and technical assistance delivery. Since 2016, every year, more than 20 technical and capacity development missions, including training of government officials and the press abroad, has been undertaken. “The coverage of our technical assistance program is quite wide, and some of the results are already evident in the economic management sphere.” The Fund also supported fiscal management process and legislative technical assistance focused on transparent use of public finance, operation of treasury single account, tax reforms, public expenditure management, procurement reforms, extractive industry fiscal regime, assessment and management of macro fiscal risks, public sector wage and public debt management.

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