President urges urgent census funding and coordinated reforms

Sierra Leone’s President has called for urgent decisions on census financing, constitutional and electoral reforms, youth employment, agriculture, energy and development-partner coordination.

The President made the appeal while addressing the Presidential Development Partners Committee meeting on 10 September, where five priority areas were presented for discussion: data, delivery and the census; political stability and reform; youth, agriculture and human capital; macroeconomic stability, energy and private-sector growth; and development financing, coordination and accountability.

“We must leave this meeting with clear decisions, responsible institutions and firm timelines,” the President said.

Census funding and timetable

The President said the Population and Housing Census required an urgent financing and disbursement plan to protect its timetable and credibility. Census Night remains scheduled for 1 December 2026.

The total cost of the census was estimated at US$37 million. The Government has committed US$24 million, of which approximately US$15 million was stated to have been disbursed. Development partners were reported to have committed about US$1.5 million, while the speech identified an estimated US$11.5 million financing gap.

The figures were presented as approximate or estimated amounts, and the speech did not indicate whether the meeting reached agreement on the requested financing plan.

Roadmap for constitutional and electoral reforms

The President directed relevant institutions to prepare a consolidated implementation roadmap for constitutional and electoral reforms ahead of the 2028 elections.

The roadmap is expected to identify completed actions, outstanding reforms, responsible institutions, deadlines and financing requirements. The speech said the work should build on previous Constitutional Review Committees, Government White Papers, Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations, the Agreement for National Unity and relevant Tripartite Committee recommendations.

The President also described the return of former President Ernest Bai Koroma as an opportunity to deepen reconciliation and reduce political tensions.

Jobs, agriculture and energy

The President called for measures to address youth exclusion, harmful drugs and substance abuse, agriculture and human-capital needs. The speech said agriculture was not creating productive jobs at the required scale and identified value addition as the missing link between production and employment.

Feed Salone and the Youth Employment Scheme were cited as programmes that should be aligned to support commercial agriculture, agro-processing and agribusiness.

Energy was described as a binding constraint affecting farms, processing centres, businesses and communities. The President called for investment in generation, transmission, distribution and renewable energy, alongside action on climate resilience and private-sector development.

Coordination and accountability

The President said progress under the country’s 2024–2030 Medium-Term National Development Plan was evident but uneven, citing financing gaps, fragmented interventions and weak coordination as continuing challenges.

The Ministers of Finance, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Planning and Economic Development were directed to present a joint framework on development-partner coordination, financing predictability and accountability within 30 days.

Under the proposed approach, every agreed action should 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 DEPAC meeting.

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