Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a staff-level agreement with Sierra Leone on the first and second reviews of its Extended Credit Facility (ECF), a key step toward unlocking approximately $78.8 million in financing for the West African nation.
If approved by the IMF’s Executive Board in the coming weeks, the agreement will unlock approximately US$78.8 million in financing for the West African nation.
The reviews, which were delayed due to earlier issues including significant spending overruns and depletion of foreign reserves, found that Sierra Leone has since improved its performance.
An IMF mission, led by Christian Saborowski, visited Freetown from October 3 to 10, 2025. Following the visit, Mr. Saborowski noted that performance had improved after the authorities tightened fiscal policy, maintained a prudent monetary policy stance, and executed several structural reforms, leading to a decline in inflation to 4.4% in October and projected growth of 4.4% in 2025.
However, the mission highlighted significant ongoing challenges, particularly the depletion of foreign reserves at the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL), which have fallen to a concerning 1.5 months of import cover.
“The authorities and IMF staff agreed that a larger fiscal effort is needed to correct last year’s policy slippages,” Mr. Saborowski stated.
To address this, the government has committed to a substantial fiscal consolidation of 3.3 percentage points of GDP in 2025. The strategy includes revenue measures equivalent to 1.5% of GDP, reinforced tax compliance, and strict expenditure restraint, though the IMF noted that commitments to scale up social spending have not yet been met.
The IMF also emphasized that “rebuilding BSL reserve adequacy is an urgent priority,” which will require ambitious efforts to purchase foreign exchange and sharply reduce government spending on imports and energy subsidies.
Upon final approval by the IMF Executive Board, the disbursement will provide critical support for Sierra Leone’s economic stabilization and reform program.
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