By Bockarie Allieu
The Ministry of Sports (MOS) and the National Sports Authority (NSA) on Friday 30th August, 2024, presented their 2025 Financial Year Budgets to Finance Ministry officials at the Ministry of Finance. Before presenting the budget they went through the calendar of activities for all the Sporting disciplines in Sierra Leone and select the vital activities among the lot.
After the scrutiny they end up to require over Three Hundred and Twenty-Four Million New Leones, exceeding the NLe 121, 894,700 ceiling to promote and develop sports for the year 2025.
In her presentation statement the Sports Minister Madam Augusta James-Teima said sport needs huge budget as its activities can create massive jobs for the youths. She appealed to the Finance Ministry to consider the huge task associated with sports activities.
During the presentation the NSA Executive Director Dr. Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai said the 2025 Budget is anchored on promoting local sports to entice job creation, foster national cohesion, and propel infrastructural development.
“He went on that their Financial Year 2025 budget focuses more on job creation, which is one of Government’s Big Five Game-Changers. We are the only sector that has the propensity to employ over 3,000 people within eight months, using the just concluded Sierra Leone Male and female premier leagues as an example said Dr.. Abdulai
In addition to job creation, the NSA Chief said the Agency is also determined to construct new sports facilities and rehabilitate existing ones across the country
, The Director of Sports Mustapha Haroine Korgie added that they have drafted six policies that speak to different emerging issues in sports such as gender, ranking, funding among others. He clarified that the NSA is the technical wing of the Ministry tasked the implementation of all activities relating to sports in the country. He described the relationship between the two institutions as cordial.
