Announcements

The Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) is to sign a landmark agreement with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the United States of America to mark a US$480.7 million investment in the country’s electricity sector.
The five-year Millennium Challenge Compact, expected to be finalized after a 15-day congressional review period that began on Monday 29th July 2024, aims to significantly enhance the country’s power infrastructure. The compact will fund three major projects: the Transmission Backbone Project, the Distribution and Access Project, and the Power Sector Reform Project. These initiatives target the critical issue of Sierra Leone’s inadequate and unreliable electricity supply, which currently limits economic growth and affects the majority of the population.
The Transmission Backbone Project will focus on expanding the coverage and reliability of Sierra Leone’s power transmission network. It includes the construction of a new transmission corridor and a centralized dispatch center to better manage the network.
The Distribution and Access Project aims to improve the reliability of electricity distribution, refurbish the existing network, increase access in underserved communities, and establish a new distribution dispatch center.
The Power Sector Reform Project will work on enhancing the financial sustainability of the electricity sector, improving regulatory frameworks, and encouraging private sector investment. It also includes support for key sector institutions and initiatives to boost operational efficiency and financial management.
Currently, only about 30% of Sierra Leone’s population has access to electricity. The new compact builds on the previous Threshold Program, which concluded in 2021, by making foundational investments to provide more reliable, affordable and sustainable power.
The MCC’s decision to proceed with this compact follows recent positive developments in Sierra Leone’s political landscape. The compact aligns with the U.S. Government’s Power Africa initiative, which seeks to increase electricity access across the continent.
The expected impact of the compact includes benefiting an estimated 4.6 million people, with a focus on improving living standards and economic opportunities for those living below the national poverty line.
The Compact seeks to assist Sierra Leone in addressing a key binding constraint to economic growth: insufficient availability of affordable and reliable electricity to satisfy demand among households, businesses and social institutions.
The Compact aims to address this constraint with three projects: the Transmission Backbone Project, Distribution and Access Project, and Power Sector Reform Project.
The Congressional Notification outlines the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s intent to sign a Millennium Challenge Compact with Sierra Leone. The transmission of this notification to Congress on July 29, 2024 affirms that the Sierra Leone Compact may be signed and the funds obligated on or after 15 days from the date of this notice.
Chairman of the MCC Board in Sierra Leone, Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, shared that the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) will allocate funds as follows: US$226 million to the transmission backbone project, US$128 million to distribution and access, US$50 million to power sector reform, US$72 million to programme administration and control, and US$7 million to monitoring and evaluation under the MCC Compact Program. These investments target addressing energy challenges in the country.
It could be recalled that on June 26, 2024, MCC’s Board of Directors approved a five-year, $480,669,000 Compact with Sierra Leone aimed at reducing poverty through economic growth.