By: Idrissa Bangura
The World Bank has on 6th November ,2025 launched the Sierra Leone Economic Update at the Lead Hotel, Aberdeen, Freetown.
Giving the opening and welcome address, World Bank Country Manager Sierra Leone Abdu Muwonge said he’s going to need seventy five thousand jobs and forty thousand thousand annually.
He added by talking about the impact of manufacturing companies into the growth of jobs , and how the private sector could play a central role in that direction.
Mr.Muwonge said they could unlock the private sector through the creation of jobs.
Mr Muwonge said the World Bank paid premium on job creation so that the rate of unemployment could be mitigated. He said they are working with government to put the reforms in practice, he said the reforms are difficult to implement but play great role when get used.
He said some of the reforms include to support government revenue mobilisation.
He acknowledged the low ratio of the GDP and aware of the reality of giving more resources to boost the GDP.
World Bank country Manager said they would increase private sector support to be able to unlock employment opportunities.
World Bank Country Manager reaffirmed that they could put their water project to Guma Valley to increase their supply of water in the Western Area. He said they discussed about opportunities to ensure that Guma Valley water utility become bankable. He said they would mobilize more resources to boost the collection sector.
Mr. Muwonge reiterated that they wanted to draw their attention to the private sector to enable it boost the water sector.
“He said the World Bank paid more attention now to skills that could fit the labour market”, he said.
World Bank Manager said that would go into what type of skills bankers, auditors and other professional needs.
He encouraged students to add technological skills in their learning and that would also enable them to use the AI and the likes.
Mr. Muwonge labeled the effort pee cee and sons in making fifty actres of onions that would also help to boost employment.
Representative from the Ministry of Finance and Keynote Speaker,Dr. Morlai Bangura expressed on how people focused on the number but urged that they focused on the growth and how that growth could lead to job creation.
Keynote speaker said they were having the presentation of shocks of economy and they are moving from those prevailing shocks where the economy is moving to the growth level and that go with the mining sector that helped with employment and revenue mobilisation and Agriculture also had done well which area he quoted the world Bank Manager praised the work of pee cee and sons and how the food prices of foods kept going down.
Director of Central Bank Dr. Bangura said in moving forward they supported agriculture they put ten million dollars for support to agriculture.
He added that there’s a rapid boost in agriculture that led to minimizing the prices of foods and other domestic product.
Dr. Bangura alluded that they are looking forward to managing debt, so that they could not pile pressure on the private sector.
He reaffirmed their commitment to transforming the educational curriculum that could fit into the recent job market of the twenty first century.
Dr. Bangura said they would also try to certify some skilled workers in the mining and other sectors.
He commended the world Bank Manager for selecting some of these important topics that need more attention to the twenty first century.
Representative of the Ministry of Finance regurgitated that they needed Business Development Services.
NIB Executive Director Dr. Hinga Sandy said the labour market is still facing challenges but the EU has finally recognized in that direction and talked about the constitutional and legislative reforms.
He said there’s a one stop shop created to enable the registration of businesses and consolidated those laws to address the gaps in the report.
Dr. Hinga Sandy said government had hired a firm to look and solve the insolvency law.
Executive Director of MACCEM, Mr. Alie Issa Mackie started that commencement of the IFC had created a boost in employment and job creation.
He continued saying that by improving job creation and employability Sierra Leone could unlock the private sector.
Founder Skool Grind Ms Sunnah Keili said the country did not have an employment issue but an issue of academia where most jobs learnt are not going online with the jobs in the market.
Minister of Gender Dr. Isata Mahoi expressed that she believed in the mantra of economist in building the blocks of economy, she touched on government readiness in providing five hundred thousand jobs. She encouraged girls and youths to engage in training and skilled in ready made jobs in the market and also made submission of government right to create empowerment for the youths.
Madam Mahoi expressed about speaking on government readiness to secure the thirty percent quota for women
Dr. Mahoi encouraged young graduates to be trained to become job creators instead of becoming job seekers.
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