The Minister of Finance, Jacob Jusu Saffa, has told journalists at the usual press briefing organized by Ministry of Information and Communication on August 15th 2019 that the Bio Administration inherited an economy wherein the former APC government plunged the nation into huge financial debts.

These huge financial debts, according to him, the SLPP led government is obliged to pay the principle coupled with interest while at the same time it has reduced the deficit from 8% to 5% in twelve months.

J.J. Saffa revealed that the former APC governments badly managed the economy; leaving behind a debt toll of USD1.5 billion in external debts from bilateral and multilateral creditors and USD660m in domestic debts of which government is obliged to disburse 110 billion Leones revenue collected each month to pay the domestic debt.

He furthered that government upon investigation discovered that the former government gave contracts to Mining Companies in their own interests with “obnoxious agreements” which gave rise for the Bio Administration to immediately cancel all Mining Contracts.

With reference to the closure of Shandong Mining Company, Mr. Saffa said they cannot sit by to see a foreign company which has conspired to flout the regulatory mining laws liquidate its assets but rather government has the onus to find another to take over its operations without the involvement of Shandong authorities.

Saffa said 50% of government’s local revenue collection is used to pay interests on domestic debts left by the former administration.

He said the APC claim of “Action not intentions” was simply meant to implement projects and lavish spending without proper planning.

He boasted that the Bio administration has received USD230 Millions in grant from the month of November 2018 and about 60-65% of all agreement undertaken by the Bio administration is on grant with minimum commitments on principal and interest payments.

He promised that when all is well with the present financial challenges facing government, Sierra Leone will again rejoice as a nation which is not dependent on others but can make use of its resources like Botswana to feed its people.