President urges coordinated action on census funding and national development

Sierra Leone’s President has called on government institutions and development partners to improve coordination around the country’s development priorities, including urgent financing for the 2026 Population and Housing Census.

The call was made during a Presidential Development Partners Committee meeting focused on implementing the Medium-Term National Development Plan 2024–2030. The meeting brought together government officials, diplomatic representatives, United Nations officials and bilateral and multilateral development partners.

The President identified five areas for attention: data and delivery; political stability and constitutional and electoral reform; youth, agriculture and human capital; macroeconomic stability, energy and private-sector growth; and development financing, coordination and accountability.

Census financing remains a priority

The President called for an urgent financing and disbursement plan for the Population and Housing Census, while maintaining that Census Night remains scheduled for 1 December 2026.

According to figures presented in the speech, the census is estimated to cost US$37 million. The Government has committed US$24 million, of which approximately US$15 million had been disbursed, while development partners had committed about US$1.5 million. The speech identified an estimated financing gap of US$11.5 million, alongside the outstanding balance of the Government’s commitment.

These figures and the assessment of the financing gap were presented by the President and were not independently verified in the supplied source.

The President also said the Population and Housing Census, the Demographic and Health Survey and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey are important for planning, allocating resources and delivering services. He called for the National Development Plan Tracker to serve as the Government’s central tool for monitoring results, identifying bottlenecks and enforcing accountability.

Roadmap sought for reforms

On political and constitutional issues, the President directed relevant institutions to prepare a consolidated implementation roadmap for constitutional and electoral reforms ahead of the elections referenced in the speech for 2028.

The proposed roadmap is expected to set out completed actions, outstanding reforms, responsible institutions, deadlines and financing requirements. The speech referred to the review of the 1991 Constitution, previous Constitutional Review Committees, Government White Papers, Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations, the Agreement for National Unity and recommendations associated with the Tripartite Committee.

The President also described the return of former President Ernest Bai Koroma as an important moment and an opportunity to deepen reconciliation and reduce political tensions. This was presented as the President’s assessment in the speech.

Youth, agriculture and energy priorities

The President called for closer links between agricultural investment and value addition, covering skills, finance, production, processing, markets and employment. He said agriculture was not creating productive jobs at the scale required and identified value addition as a missing link.

He also called for a coordinated response to harmful drugs and substance abuse. The proposed response includes prevention, law enforcement, mental-health care, treatment, rehabilitation, reintegration, skills and employment support.

On energy, the President called for coordinated investment in generation, transmission, distribution and renewable energy. He said energy remained a binding constraint on development and private-sector growth.

Development partners given coordination deadline

The President directed the Ministers of Finance, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Planning and Economic Development to present a joint framework within thirty days. The framework is intended to address development-partner coordination, financing predictability and accountability.

He also said the Government would maintain fiscal discipline, strengthen domestic revenue, improve debt management and protect priority expenditure. The speech called for agreed actions to have a responsible institution, a clear deadline and a measurable result.

Progress is to be monitored through the National Development Plan Tracker and reviewed at the next meeting of the Development Assistance Coordination Committee, known as DEPAC. The source does not confirm whether the decisions listed for consideration at the meeting were formally adopted.

“Government must lead; partners must align; and both must be accountable for results,” the President said.