The National Council for Civic Education and Democracy (NaCCED), in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, on Monday, 13th May 2025, launched the ‘Citizens’ Guide to the National Budget’ for the Financial Year 2025. The event, which took place at the Ministry of Finance Conference room, brought together Budget Oversight Committee members, journalists, and State and Non-State actors.
The Guide to the Citizens’ Budget, which is themed: “Improving the Well-being and Quality of Life of Sierra Leoneans,” is a simplified guide breakdown of the nation’s complex economic and financial plans into an accessible format, empowering citizens to understand government revenue, expenditure, and priorities.
The guide is part of President Julius Maada Bio’s broader EFME program, aimed at fostering transparency, accountability, and public participation in governance.
Presenting an overview of the document, the Chairman of the National Council for Civic Education and Democracy, Mr. Joseph Munda Bindi, explained that the importance of the document is to make the National budget easily understandable and reader friendly for citizens.
The Chairman explained that the guide to the national budget which is popularly known as the ‘Citizens Budget’ explains to the Sierra Leoneans in a simple way the revenue and expenditure projections of Government for the year, how and where it generates revenues and how it intends to manage the resources for the good of its people adding that it will also improve the standard of life of its citizens which is emphasized in the theme for this year.
He furthered that through the Minister of Finance, NaCCED has partnered with the Ministry of Finance to promote and strengthen the project titled: ‘Economic and Financial Management Education’ (EFME). The EFME aims to down size the voluminous national budget document into a simplified and abridged version which can easily be understood by the ordinary citizens. The simplified version is called the Citizens Budget. The EFME is the initiative of President Dr. Julius Maada Bio’s Government which intends to take the government to the people and running an inclusive state that is accountable, transparent and participatory.
“For this year’s EFME, NaCCED has procured reasonable quantities of the Citizen’s Budget which will be distributed to participants on a free of cost basis, audio and video messages will be transmitted using various media channels and animation of the Citizen’s Budget through the District Budget Oversight Committee meetings,” Mr. Bindi said.
While launching the document, the Minister of Finance, Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura appreciated NaCCED for the methodology NaCCED utilized in explaining the National Budget in a video documentary.
He acknowledged that NaCCED is the expert institution in civic engagement and awareness, therefore Ministry of Finance will strengthen its partnership with NaCCED to ensure that the document achieve its goal which is to improve the standard of the lives of citizens.
The Minister of Finance stated that financial shock is experience globally but however noted that it is the work of the Ministry to formulate policies to mitigate these shocks on citizens.
The Deputy Minister 1, Madam Allieu disclosed that the 2023/2024 financial year saw no new taxes; a move intended to reduce the burden on citizens.
Comments, questions and observations were made from State and non-state actors on the Citizen’s Guide to the National Budget-2025 particularly in the areas of the ‘Feed Salone’ Project and the subsidy on electricity and how it will reflect positively on the lives of Sierra Leoneans.
NaCCED will continue to conduct civic engagement through regional town hall meetings involving District Budget Oversight Committees and the media and has printed copies for free distribution and will use radio, TV, and community meetings to educate citizens on the budget’s contents.
