The Minister of Finance, Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura, yesterday Monday 16th October, 2023 called for an urgent action to tackle rising inequality at the 2023 IMF/World Bank Annual Meeting held in Marrakech, Morocco.

The event, which hosted 14,000 delegates from 190 countries, brought together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, private sector executives, civil society, media and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, global financial stability, and poverty.

The meeting focused on what it will take to end poverty on a livable planet, the need to respond to intertwine global challenges, and to provide an excellent opportunity for IMF and World Bank to address the growing chorus of criticism that poorer nations are underrepresented at the two institutions, hence the calls to reform in order to better help vulnerable nations deal with poverty and climate change.

Delivering a speech at a high-level panel discussion on “Closing the Divide: Strengthening World Bank Goals to Fight Inequality,” the Minister of Finance, Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura, averred that addressing inequality is a complex and gradual process that does not change overnight.

The Minister outlined the Government of Sierra Leone’s (GoSL) strategy that involves prioritizing education to build human capital and expanding investments in the agricultural sector.

Minister Bangura highlighted government’s efforts to protect the poor through a revised tax policy with broad-based taxation that includes exemptions for essential services.
He also affirmed government’s commitment to actively work on various social interventions with a particular focus on women and youth to bridge the inequality gap and emphasized the persistent inequalities within and between countries.

The group of governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, including the Minister of Finance Sheku A.F Bangura, underscored the urgent global need to combat rising inequality and set more ambitious targets to create a fairer and more equitable world. Other prominent speakers emphasized the importance of tackling inequality on multiple fronts.
Credit: Aminaash Nyande Brima Information Attache Rabat, Morocco