Abstract
This 2016 Article IV Consultation highlights that economic outcomes in Sierra Leone have deteriorated sharply over the past two years. Growth declined dramatically from 20.7 percent in 2013, to 4.6 percent in 2014, and further to -21.1 percent in 2015. The budget is under severe pressure. Between mid-2014 and end-2015, the Leone depreciated 22 percent against the U.S. dollar. Banking sector vulnerabilities have increased. Living standards have also deteriorated significantly since late 2014. The medium-term outlook is somewhat positive, with growth projected to recover to 4.3 percent in 2016, increasing gradually to about 6.5 percent by 2020.
Relations with the Fund
(As of April 30, 2016)
Membership Status: Joined 9/10/62; Article VIII
| General Resources Account: | SDR Million | % Quota | |
| Quota | 207.40 | 100.00 | |
| Fund holdings of currency | 207.39 | 99.99 | |
| Reserve position | 0.02 | 0.01 | |
| SDR Department: | SDR Million | % Allocation | |
| Net cumulative allocation | 99.51 | 100.00 | |
| Holdings | 107.52 | 108.06 | |
| Outstanding Purchases and Loans: | SDR Million | % Quota | |
| ECF Arrangements | 182.64 | 88.06 | |
| General Resources Account: | SDR Million | % Quota | |
| Quota | 207.40 | 100.00 | |
| Fund holdings of currency | 207.39 | 99.99 | |
| Reserve position | 0.02 | 0.01 | |
| SDR Department: | SDR Million | % Allocation | |
| Net cumulative allocation | 99.51 | 100.00 | |
| Holdings | 107.52 | 108.06 | |
| Outstanding Purchases and Loans: | SDR Million | % Quota | |
| ECF Arrangements | 182.64 | 88.06 | |
Latest Financial Arrangements:
| Amount | Amount | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of | Approved | Drawn | ||
| Type | Arrangement | Expiration Date | (SDR Million) | (SDR Million |
| ECF | Oct 21, 2013 | Oct 20, 2016 | 186.66 | 137.78 |
| ECF | July 01, 2010 | June 30, 2013 | 31.11 | 22.20 |
| ECF1 | May 10, 2006 | June 22, 2010 | 51.88 | 51.88 |
| Amount | Amount | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of | Approved | Drawn | ||
| Type | Arrangement | Expiration Date | (SDR Million) | (SDR Million |
| ECF | Oct 21, 2013 | Oct 20, 2016 | 186.66 | 137.78 |
| ECF | July 01, 2010 | June 30, 2013 | 31.11 | 22.20 |
| ECF1 | May 10, 2006 | June 22, 2010 | 51.88 | 51.88 |
Projected Payments to Fund 2
(SDR million; based on existing use of resources and present holdings of SDRs):
| Forthcoming | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | ||
| Principal | 0.36 | 12.11 | 12.99 | 11.27 | 21.17 | |
| Charges/Interest | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.38 | 0.34 | |
| Total | 0.36 | 12.11 | 13.00 | 11.66 | 21.52 | |
| Forthcoming | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | ||
| Principal | 0.36 | 12.11 | 12.99 | 11.27 | 21.17 | |
| Charges/Interest | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.38 | 0.34 | |
| Total | 0.36 | 12.11 | 13.00 | 11.66 | 21.52 | |
Implementation of HIPC Initiative:
| Enhanced | ||
| Framework | ||
| Commitment of HIPC Initiative assistance | ||
| Decision point date | March 2002 | |
| Assistance committed (NPV terms) | ||||||
| By all creditors (US$ million)3 | 675.20 | |||||
| Of which: IMF assistance (US$ million) | 125.21 | |||||
| (SDR equivalent in millions) | 100.00 | |||||
| Completion point date | December 2006 | |||||
| Disbursement of IMF assistance (SDR million) | ||||||
| Amount disbursed | 100.00 | |||||
| Interim assistance | 66.03 | |||||
| Completion point balance | 33.97 | |||||
| Additional disbursement of interest income4 | 6.58 | |||||
| Total disbursements | 106.58 | |||||
| Enhanced | ||
| Framework | ||
| Commitment of HIPC Initiative assistance | ||
| Decision point date | March 2002 | |
| Assistance committed (NPV terms) | ||||||
| By all creditors (US$ million)3 | 675.20 | |||||
| Of which: IMF assistance (US$ million) | 125.21 | |||||
| (SDR equivalent in millions) | 100.00 | |||||
| Completion point date | December 2006 | |||||
| Disbursement of IMF assistance (SDR million) | ||||||
| Amount disbursed | 100.00 | |||||
| Interim assistance | 66.03 | |||||
| Completion point balance | 33.97 | |||||
| Additional disbursement of interest income4 | 6.58 | |||||
| Total disbursements | 106.58 | |||||
Implementation of Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI):
| I. MDRI-eligible debt (SDR Million)5 | 117.34 | |||
| Financed by: MDRI Trust | 76.75 | |||
| Remaining HIPC resources | 40.59 | |||
| II. Debt Relief by facility (SDR Million) | ||||
| Eligible Debt | ||||
| Delivery Date | GRA | PRGT | Total | |
| December 2006 | N/A | 117.34 | 117.34 | |
| I. MDRI-eligible debt (SDR Million)5 | 117.34 | |||
| Financed by: MDRI Trust | 76.75 | |||
| Remaining HIPC resources | 40.59 | |||
| II. Debt Relief by facility (SDR Million) | ||||
| Eligible Debt | ||||
| Delivery Date | GRA | PRGT | Total | |
| December 2006 | N/A | 117.34 | 117.34 | |
Implementation of Catastrophe Containment and Relief (CCR):
| Date of | Board Decision | Amount Committed | Amount Disbursed |
| Catastrophe | Date | (SDR million) | (SDR million) |
| N/A | Mar 02, 2015 | 20.74 | 20.74 |
| Date of | Board Decision | Amount Committed | Amount Disbursed |
| Catastrophe | Date | (SDR million) | (SDR million) |
| N/A | Mar 02, 2015 | 20.74 | 20.74 |
As of February 4, 2015, the Post-Catastrophe Debt Relief Trust has been transformed to the Catastrophe Containment and Relief (CCR) Trust.
Safeguards Assessment:
The 2015 safeguards assessment found that despite the Ebola epidemic, the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) has maintained essential operations and related controls. Governance bodies were reconstituted without delay, following the expiration of the previous terms, and the Audit Committee continued its oversight of BSL operations. However, the modernization of the internal audit function, recommended by an independent external quality assessment, has not been fully completed. While financial statements continue to be prepared and audited in accordance with international standards, audits are not completed within the statutory deadline.
Exchange Rate Arrangement:
For customs valuation purposes and for official transactions, the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) calculates an official exchange rate every Friday morning as the weighted average of the auction rate, the commercial bank mid-rate, and the bureau mid-rate in the previous week. Commercial banks may buy foreign exchange from and sell it to individual customers and may trade among themselves or with the BSL on a freely negotiable basis. As of December 31, 2015, the BSL mid rate was Le 5,639.1=US$1, which is also the new Program exchange rate. As of September 30, 2015, the BSL mid rate was Le 5,292.6=US$1.
Sierra Leone’s de jure exchange rate regime is classified as floating, with the value of the leone determined by the market. Furthermore, effective November 1, 2008, the de facto exchange rate arrangement has been reclassified to ‘floating’ from a ‘stabilized arrangement’.
With effect December 14, 1995, Sierra Leone has accepted the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2, 3, and 4, and maintains an exchange system free of restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions. Sierra Leone maintains one multiple currency practice subject to Fund jurisdiction arising from the applied multiple-price Dutch auction system, as there is no formal mechanism in place to prevent spreads of effective rates between winning bids from exceeding 2 percent.
Article IV Consultation:
The Executive Board concluded the last Article IV consultation on October 21, 2013.
Technical Assistance:
| Department | Purpose | Date |
|---|---|---|
| FAD | Macro-Fiscal Cash Management | April 2016 |
| Regulations for PFM Law | September 2015 | |
| Drafting the PFM Legal Framework | July 2014 | |
| Review of the PFM law and arrears | April 2014 | |
| Effective Revenue Administration for the EI Sector | February 2014 | |
| Assist in drafting a new Public Financial Management (PFM) | February 2014 | |
| Follow up Managing Natural Resource Wealth (MNRW) project | December 2013 | |
| Tax Policy under Module 1 of the Managing Natural Resource Wealth (MNRW) project | November 2013 | |
| Module 2 of MNRW | July 2013 | |
| MCM | Monetary Policy Framework and Operations | March 2016 |
| Multi-Topic Bank Resolution and Bank Supervision Diagnostic Mission | February 2016 | |
| Multi-Topic Mission | June 2014 | |
| Monetary and Foreign Exchange Operations | October 2013; February 2014 | |
| Financial Stability Analysis | October 2013; November 2013 | |
| Medium-term Debt management Strategy | January 2013 | |
| Liquidity Forecasting and Development of Interbank Foreign Exchange Market | July 2012; January 2013; February 2014 | |
| Long-term expert on financial stability | 2013–14 | |
| STA | DFID Price Statistics Mission | May 2016 |
| National Accounts Mission | April 2016 | |
| DFID Balance of Payments Mission | March 2016 | |
| External Sector Statistics Mission | March 2016 | |
| Consumer Price Index Mission | February 2016 | |
| Managing natural Resource Wealth Mission | July 2014 | |
| LEG | TA in Fiscal Law (FAD MNRW TTF) | June, November 2013; January 2014 |
| Department | Purpose | Date |
|---|---|---|
| FAD | Macro-Fiscal Cash Management | April 2016 |
| Regulations for PFM Law | September 2015 | |
| Drafting the PFM Legal Framework | July 2014 | |
| Review of the PFM law and arrears | April 2014 | |
| Effective Revenue Administration for the EI Sector | February 2014 | |
| Assist in drafting a new Public Financial Management (PFM) | February 2014 | |
| Follow up Managing Natural Resource Wealth (MNRW) project | December 2013 | |
| Tax Policy under Module 1 of the Managing Natural Resource Wealth (MNRW) project | November 2013 | |
| Module 2 of MNRW | July 2013 | |
| MCM | Monetary Policy Framework and Operations | March 2016 |
| Multi-Topic Bank Resolution and Bank Supervision Diagnostic Mission | February 2016 | |
| Multi-Topic Mission | June 2014 | |
| Monetary and Foreign Exchange Operations | October 2013; February 2014 | |
| Financial Stability Analysis | October 2013; November 2013 | |
| Medium-term Debt management Strategy | January 2013 | |
| Liquidity Forecasting and Development of Interbank Foreign Exchange Market | July 2012; January 2013; February 2014 | |
| Long-term expert on financial stability | 2013–14 | |
| STA | DFID Price Statistics Mission | May 2016 |
| National Accounts Mission | April 2016 | |
| DFID Balance of Payments Mission | March 2016 | |
| External Sector Statistics Mission | March 2016 | |
| Consumer Price Index Mission | February 2016 | |
| Managing natural Resource Wealth Mission | July 2014 | |
| LEG | TA in Fiscal Law (FAD MNRW TTF) | June, November 2013; January 2014 |
Resident Representative:
Ms. Iyabo Masha assumed responsibility for the Fund office in Freetown on February 1, 2015.
Joint World Bank-IMF Work Program, 2016–17
| Title | Activities | Provisional Timing of Mission | Expected Delivery Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Mutual Information on Relevant Work Programs | |||
| World Bank work program | New Development Policy Financing | June 23–28, 2016 | December 2016 |
| Sierra Leone Boost initiative | June 23–28, 2016 | On-going | |
| Debt Buyback operation | June 23–28, 2016 | June 2017 | |
| Energy Sector Utility Reform project | August 1–8, 2016 | On-going | |
| Western Area Power Generation Project Guarantee | August 1–8, 2016 | June 2016 | |
| Financial Sector Development Plan support project | July 4–8, 2016 | June 2016 | |
| Public Sector Pay and Performance project | September 2016 | On-going | |
| Country Policy and Institutional Assessment | April 2017 | ||
| Economic Diversification and Growth Study | June 23–28 | June 2017 | |
| Household Income and Expenditure Survey | TBD | TBD | |
| IMF work program | Sixth Review of the ECF Arrangement | September 2016 | November 2016 |
| Technical Assistance: | |||
| FAD | |||
| Follow-up on Implementation PFM and PFM Regulations | 2016 | 2016 | |
| Revenue Enhancement: Follow-up to TADAT | 2016 | 2016 | |
| Capacity Building in macro-fiscal projection | 2016–2017 | ||
| Assistance on specialized audits and transfer pricing | 2016–2017 | ||
| MCM | |||
| Enhancing Risk Based and Offsite Supervision | 2016–2017 | ||
| Central Bank Operations | 2016–2017 | ||
| Debt Management | 2016–2017 | ||
| Liquidity Forecasting | April 2016 | ||
| Financial Stability | April 2016, April 2017 | ||
| STA | |||
| Follow-up on BOP Statistics | 2016 | ||
| Follow-up on Price Statistics | 2016 | ||
| B. Agreement on Joint Products and Missions | |||
| Joint Work Program | Debt Sustainability Analysis | On-going | |
| Domestic Resource Mobilization | June 2017 | ||
| TA to strengthen banking supervision and enhancing financial sector stability | On-going | ||
| C. Requests for Work Program Inputs | |||
| 1. Fund Requests to Bank | Updates on macro-relevant work | Continuous | |
| Updates on work related to the energy sector and other key infrastructure projects | Continuous | ||
| 2. Bank Requests to Fund | Regular updates of performance under the Fund-supported program, macroeconomic projections and updated macroeconomic framework tables following each IMF mission | Continuous | |
| IMF Relations Note Assessment Letter | As needed | ||
| Title | Activities | Provisional Timing of Mission | Expected Delivery Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Mutual Information on Relevant Work Programs | |||
| World Bank work program | New Development Policy Financing | June 23–28, 2016 | December 2016 |
| Sierra Leone Boost initiative | June 23–28, 2016 | On-going | |
| Debt Buyback operation | June 23–28, 2016 | June 2017 | |
| Energy Sector Utility Reform project | August 1–8, 2016 | On-going | |
| Western Area Power Generation Project Guarantee | August 1–8, 2016 | June 2016 | |
| Financial Sector Development Plan support project | July 4–8, 2016 | June 2016 | |
| Public Sector Pay and Performance project | September 2016 | On-going | |
| Country Policy and Institutional Assessment | April 2017 | ||
| Economic Diversification and Growth Study | June 23–28 | June 2017 | |
| Household Income and Expenditure Survey | TBD | TBD | |
| IMF work program | Sixth Review of the ECF Arrangement | September 2016 | November 2016 |
| Technical Assistance: | |||
| FAD | |||
| Follow-up on Implementation PFM and PFM Regulations | 2016 | 2016 | |
| Revenue Enhancement: Follow-up to TADAT | 2016 | 2016 | |
| Capacity Building in macro-fiscal projection | 2016–2017 | ||
| Assistance on specialized audits and transfer pricing | 2016–2017 | ||
| MCM | |||
| Enhancing Risk Based and Offsite Supervision | 2016–2017 | ||
| Central Bank Operations | 2016–2017 | ||
| Debt Management | 2016–2017 | ||
| Liquidity Forecasting | April 2016 | ||
| Financial Stability | April 2016, April 2017 | ||
| STA | |||
| Follow-up on BOP Statistics | 2016 | ||
| Follow-up on Price Statistics | 2016 | ||
| B. Agreement on Joint Products and Missions | |||
| Joint Work Program | Debt Sustainability Analysis | On-going | |
| Domestic Resource Mobilization | June 2017 | ||
| TA to strengthen banking supervision and enhancing financial sector stability | On-going | ||
| C. Requests for Work Program Inputs | |||
| 1. Fund Requests to Bank | Updates on macro-relevant work | Continuous | |
| Updates on work related to the energy sector and other key infrastructure projects | Continuous | ||
| 2. Bank Requests to Fund | Regular updates of performance under the Fund-supported program, macroeconomic projections and updated macroeconomic framework tables following each IMF mission | Continuous | |
| IMF Relations Note Assessment Letter | As needed | ||
Statistical Issues
(As of June 16, 2016)
| I. Assessment of Data Adequacy for Surveillance | |
| General: Data provision is broadly adequate for surveillance with some key data shortcomings in national accounts, monetary, and external sector statistics. A major and sustained improvement in the coverage and timeliness of economic data will require greater interagency coordination and restructuring of the institutional framework. | |
| National Accounts: Statistics Sierra Leone (SSL) produces and disseminates GDP estimates by activity in value and constant prices of 2006, according to the 1993 SNA. Under the DFID-funded project annual GDP estimates have been improved, especially regarding the compilation of construction, estimation of informal sector activity, measurement of government services, agricultural production, household final consumption, and constant price gross domestic product (GDP). Remaining issues concern developing better data sources for agricultural and mineral production, and generally continuing the improvement of informal sector measurement. However, shortages of resources and staff continue to pose major constraints to the statistical development undertaken by SSL. | |
| Price Statistics: The SSL compiles the CPI monthly and publishes it with a lag of about three weeks. It has been rebased to 2007 using the 2007 Sierra Leone integrated household survey and continues to cover the capital city and three main districts. While a national CPI is being compiled, the authorities continue to publish the old CPI (1992=100). They have requested technical assistance for the preparation and adoption of a single index. | |
| Technical assistance mission last visited Freetown in May 2016 to improve the computation of the consumer price index, CPI. The authorities are working to improve the calculation methods for the CPI and procedures to aggregate regional CPIs to obtain the national index. | |
| Regarding the new PPI, the Authorities have developed the index weights, selected a representative sample of establishments, and selected representative products and transactions for price collection. A work plan, in the form of Project Framework Summary, was drafted and agreed with the authorities for the preparation of this new PPI. | |
| Government Finance Statistics: The budget reporting system was established with assistance from the Fund/UNDP technical assistance project. Monthly cash flow data on central government budgetary revenue, current expenditure, and financing are provided. The transaction coverage of the central government budgetary cash flow is incomplete. There is an urgent need for more timely and accurate data on foreign-financed development projects. Reports on implementation of the development budget and its financing are currently not produced in a format that is suitable for budget analysis because the necessary data are not available. | |
| The authorities are currently considering the introduction of a flash reporting system for government expenditure in general and for foreign aid-financed projects, in particular. As part of the GDDS regional project for Anglophone African countries, work has been undertaken to reconcile fiscal and monetary data and to improve the coverage and classification of the two data sets. With the current drive towards decentralization and the growing role of local government, there is an urgent need to compile and monitor the operations (and financial balance sheet data) for the consolidated general government. | |
| Financial sector surveillance: Sierra Leone does not participate in the IMF’s Coordinated Direct Investment Survey (CDIS), Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS) and Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs) databases. | |
| Monetary and Financial Statistics: The main components of the central bank balance sheet are available daily and weekly under the early warning system on key financial targets. The full monetary survey is compiled by the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) with a lag of about six weeks; it has comprehensive coverage of commercial banks. | |
| Progress has been made by the BSL in the compilation of monetary data. The BSL, with assistance from STA, has completed the migration to standardized report forms (SRFs) for the central bank and other depository corporations (ODCs). However, there is a need to expand the coverage of monetary and financial statistics by including data on other financial institutions. | |
| External sector statistics: The BSL is responsible for compiling BOP and IIP statistics, which are currently prepared on an annual basis. Primary data sources are administrative-based data (BSL own records, line ministries, and Customs and Excise Department (Customs) records), partner-country and international organizations data, and the annual survey of major companies for estimates on services, income, and financial flows relating to direct, portfolio, and other investments. | |
| Technical Assistance mission last visited Freetown in March 2016 to improve the compiling and computation of balance of payments and external debt statistics. This mission was part of a United Kingdom Department for International Development - Enhanced Data Dissemination Initiative on improving balance of payments statistics, conducted by an expert reporting to STA. | |
| External transactions are characterized by a large volume of activities in the informal sector. Trade data include some estimates for unrecorded diamond exports—by deducting official diamonds export figures from trading partners’ official diamonds imports from Sierra Leone. Coverage issues also exist for services, primary and secondary income, and capital and financial accounts. | |
| Information on official grant and loan receipts is of generally good quality and is prepared by the IMF African Department (AFR) staff on the basis of contacts with the authorities and donor agencies. Data on private financial flows should be improved; Information on financial transactions of banks are obtained directly from commercial bank records; entries are estimated as differences in amounts of outstanding foreign assets and liabilities of commercial banks and may thus include valuation and other changes. | |
| While the authorities are producing data on the IIP, the coverage as well as the consistency with BOP data should be improved. There is a critical need to improve the quality and coverage of Balance of Payment. The recent double counting of mineral resources exports, the revision of which generated large historical errors, makes BOP da even less reliable. On this regard, the BSL has strongtly requested TA to strengthen the capacity to undertake the independent survey to validate BOP data and to design a program to significantly strengthen the BOP data collection and forecasting. | |
| II. Data Standards and Quality | |
| Sierra Leone is participant in the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) since 2003. | No data ROSC is available. |
| III. Reporting to STA | |
| Data are reported for publication in the Government Finance Statistics Yearbook, with the most recent data referring to 2012, but no sub-annual data are reported for inclusion in the International Financial Statistics. | |
| The BSL started reporting monetary data in the SRF-format to the IMF in April 2010. | |
| I. Assessment of Data Adequacy for Surveillance | |
| General: Data provision is broadly adequate for surveillance with some key data shortcomings in national accounts, monetary, and external sector statistics. A major and sustained improvement in the coverage and timeliness of economic data will require greater interagency coordination and restructuring of the institutional framework. | |
| National Accounts: Statistics Sierra Leone (SSL) produces and disseminates GDP estimates by activity in value and constant prices of 2006, according to the 1993 SNA. Under the DFID-funded project annual GDP estimates have been improved, especially regarding the compilation of construction, estimation of informal sector activity, measurement of government services, agricultural production, household final consumption, and constant price gross domestic product (GDP). Remaining issues concern developing better data sources for agricultural and mineral production, and generally continuing the improvement of informal sector measurement. However, shortages of resources and staff continue to pose major constraints to the statistical development undertaken by SSL. | |
| Price Statistics: The SSL compiles the CPI monthly and publishes it with a lag of about three weeks. It has been rebased to 2007 using the 2007 Sierra Leone integrated household survey and continues to cover the capital city and three main districts. While a national CPI is being compiled, the authorities continue to publish the old CPI (1992=100). They have requested technical assistance for the preparation and adoption of a single index. | |
| Technical assistance mission last visited Freetown in May 2016 to improve the computation of the consumer price index, CPI. The authorities are working to improve the calculation methods for the CPI and procedures to aggregate regional CPIs to obtain the national index. | |
| Regarding the new PPI, the Authorities have developed the index weights, selected a representative sample of establishments, and selected representative products and transactions for price collection. A work plan, in the form of Project Framework Summary, was drafted and agreed with the authorities for the preparation of this new PPI. | |
| Government Finance Statistics: The budget reporting system was established with assistance from the Fund/UNDP technical assistance project. Monthly cash flow data on central government budgetary revenue, current expenditure, and financing are provided. The transaction coverage of the central government budgetary cash flow is incomplete. There is an urgent need for more timely and accurate data on foreign-financed development projects. Reports on implementation of the development budget and its financing are currently not produced in a format that is suitable for budget analysis because the necessary data are not available. | |
| The authorities are currently considering the introduction of a flash reporting system for government expenditure in general and for foreign aid-financed projects, in particular. As part of the GDDS regional project for Anglophone African countries, work has been undertaken to reconcile fiscal and monetary data and to improve the coverage and classification of the two data sets. With the current drive towards decentralization and the growing role of local government, there is an urgent need to compile and monitor the operations (and financial balance sheet data) for the consolidated general government. | |
| Financial sector surveillance: Sierra Leone does not participate in the IMF’s Coordinated Direct Investment Survey (CDIS), Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS) and Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs) databases. | |
| Monetary and Financial Statistics: The main components of the central bank balance sheet are available daily and weekly under the early warning system on key financial targets. The full monetary survey is compiled by the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) with a lag of about six weeks; it has comprehensive coverage of commercial banks. | |
| Progress has been made by the BSL in the compilation of monetary data. The BSL, with assistance from STA, has completed the migration to standardized report forms (SRFs) for the central bank and other depository corporations (ODCs). However, there is a need to expand the coverage of monetary and financial statistics by including data on other financial institutions. | |
| External sector statistics: The BSL is responsible for compiling BOP and IIP statistics, which are currently prepared on an annual basis. Primary data sources are administrative-based data (BSL own records, line ministries, and Customs and Excise Department (Customs) records), partner-country and international organizations data, and the annual survey of major companies for estimates on services, income, and financial flows relating to direct, portfolio, and other investments. | |
| Technical Assistance mission last visited Freetown in March 2016 to improve the compiling and computation of balance of payments and external debt statistics. This mission was part of a United Kingdom Department for International Development - Enhanced Data Dissemination Initiative on improving balance of payments statistics, conducted by an expert reporting to STA. | |
| External transactions are characterized by a large volume of activities in the informal sector. Trade data include some estimates for unrecorded diamond exports—by deducting official diamonds export figures from trading partners’ official diamonds imports from Sierra Leone. Coverage issues also exist for services, primary and secondary income, and capital and financial accounts. | |
| Information on official grant and loan receipts is of generally good quality and is prepared by the IMF African Department (AFR) staff on the basis of contacts with the authorities and donor agencies. Data on private financial flows should be improved; Information on financial transactions of banks are obtained directly from commercial bank records; entries are estimated as differences in amounts of outstanding foreign assets and liabilities of commercial banks and may thus include valuation and other changes. | |
| While the authorities are producing data on the IIP, the coverage as well as the consistency with BOP data should be improved. There is a critical need to improve the quality and coverage of Balance of Payment. The recent double counting of mineral resources exports, the revision of which generated large historical errors, makes BOP da even less reliable. On this regard, the BSL has strongtly requested TA to strengthen the capacity to undertake the independent survey to validate BOP data and to design a program to significantly strengthen the BOP data collection and forecasting. | |
| II. Data Standards and Quality | |
| Sierra Leone is participant in the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) since 2003. | No data ROSC is available. |
| III. Reporting to STA | |
| Data are reported for publication in the Government Finance Statistics Yearbook, with the most recent data referring to 2012, but no sub-annual data are reported for inclusion in the International Financial Statistics. | |
| The BSL started reporting monetary data in the SRF-format to the IMF in April 2010. | |
Sierra Leone: Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
June 2016
Daily (D), Weekly (W), Monthly (M), Quarterly (Q), Annually (A); Irregular (I); Not Available (NA).
Any reserve assets that are pledged or otherwise encumbered should be specified separately. Also, data should comprise short-term liabilities linked to a foreign currency but settled by other means as well as the notional values of financial derivatives to pay and to receive foreign currency, including those linked to a foreign currency but settled by other means.
Both market-based and officially-determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes and bonds.
Includes external gross financial asset and liability positions vis-à-vis nonresidents.
Sierra Leone: Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
June 2016
| Date of Latest Observation | Date Received | Frequency of Data1 | Frequency of Reporting1 | Frequency of Publication1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Rates | 05/30/2016 | 6/02/2016 | W | W | W |
| International Reserve Assets and Reserve Liabilities of the Monetary Authorities2 | 12/31/2015 | 03/25/2016 | M | M | M |
| Reserve/Base Money | 03/30/2016 | 04/31/2016 | M | M | M |
| Broad Money | 03/30/2016 | 04/28/2016 | M | M | M |
| Central Bank Balance Sheet | 03/30/2016 | 04/28/2016 | M | M | M |
| Consolidated Balance Sheet of the Banking System | 03/30/2016 | 04/28/2016 | M | M | M |
| Interest Rates3 | 03/30/2016 | 04/28/2016 | M | M | M |
| Consumer Price Index | 04/30/2016 | 06/03/2016 | M | M | M |
| Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing - General Government | 04/30/2016 | 06/03/2016 | M | M | M |
| Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing- Central Government | 04/30/2015 | 06/03/2016 | M | M | M |
| Stocks of Central Government and Central Government-Guaranteed Debt | 12/31/2015 | 03/25/2016 | Q | Q | Q |
| External Current Account Balance | 12/31/2015 | 03/25/2016 | A | A | A |
| Exports and Imports of Goods and Services | 12/31/2015 | 03/25/2016 | A | A | A |
| GDP/GNP | 12/31/2015 | 03/25/2016 | A | A | A |
| Gross External Debt | 12/31/2015 | 03/25/2016 | A | A | A |
| International Investment Position4 | 12/31/2015 | 09/01/2015 | A | A | A |
Daily (D), Weekly (W), Monthly (M), Quarterly (Q), Annually (A); Irregular (I); Not Available (NA).
Any reserve assets that are pledged or otherwise encumbered should be specified separately. Also, data should comprise short-term liabilities linked to a foreign currency but settled by other means as well as the notional values of financial derivatives to pay and to receive foreign currency, including those linked to a foreign currency but settled by other means.
Both market-based and officially-determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes and bonds.
Includes external gross financial asset and liability positions vis-à-vis nonresidents.
Sierra Leone: Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance
June 2016
| Date of Latest Observation | Date Received | Frequency of Data1 | Frequency of Reporting1 | Frequency of Publication1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Rates | 05/30/2016 | 6/02/2016 | W | W | W |
| International Reserve Assets and Reserve Liabilities of the Monetary Authorities2 | 12/31/2015 | 03/25/2016 | M | M | M |
| Reserve/Base Money | 03/30/2016 | 04/31/2016 | M | M | M |
| Broad Money | 03/30/2016 | 04/28/2016 | M | M | M |
| Central Bank Balance Sheet | 03/30/2016 | 04/28/2016 | M | M | M |
| Consolidated Balance Sheet of the Banking System | 03/30/2016 | 04/28/2016 | M | M | M |
| Interest Rates3 | 03/30/2016 | 04/28/2016 | M | M | M |
| Consumer Price Index | 04/30/2016 | 06/03/2016 | M | M | M |
| Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing - General Government | 04/30/2016 | 06/03/2016 | M | M | M |
| Revenue, Expenditure, Balance and Composition of Financing- Central Government | 04/30/2015 | 06/03/2016 | M | M | M |
| Stocks of Central Government and Central Government-Guaranteed Debt | 12/31/2015 | 03/25/2016 | Q | Q | Q |
| External Current Account Balance | 12/31/2015 | 03/25/2016 | A | A | A |
| Exports and Imports of Goods and Services | 12/31/2015 | 03/25/2016 | A | A | A |
| GDP/GNP | 12/31/2015 | 03/25/2016 | A | A | A |
| Gross External Debt | 12/31/2015 | 03/25/2016 | A | A | A |
| International Investment Position4 | 12/31/2015 | 09/01/2015 | A | A | A |
Daily (D), Weekly (W), Monthly (M), Quarterly (Q), Annually (A); Irregular (I); Not Available (NA).
Any reserve assets that are pledged or otherwise encumbered should be specified separately. Also, data should comprise short-term liabilities linked to a foreign currency but settled by other means as well as the notional values of financial derivatives to pay and to receive foreign currency, including those linked to a foreign currency but settled by other means.
Both market-based and officially-determined, including discount rates, money market rates, rates on treasury bills, notes and bonds.
Includes external gross financial asset and liability positions vis-à-vis nonresidents.
Formerly PRGF.
When a member has overdue financial obligations outstanding for more than three months, the amount will be shown in this section.
Assistance committed under the original framework is expressed in net present value (NPV) terms at the completion point, and assistance committed under the enhanced framework is expressed in NPV terms at the decision point. Hence these two amounts cannot be added.
Under the enhanced framework, an additional disbursement is made at the completion point corresponding to interest income earned on the amount committed at the decision point but not disbursed during the interim.
The MDRI provides 100 percent debt relief to eligible member countries that qualified for the assistance. Grant assistance from the MDRI Trust and HIPC resources provide debt relief to cover the full stock of debt owed to the Fund as of 2004 that remains outstanding at the time the member qualifies for debt relief.