Sierra Leone’s domestic borrowing climbed to a record 23.7 billion New Leones (about US$1.04 billion) in fiscal year 2025, reflecting growing government financing pressures and increased reliance on local debt markets, according to the Accountant General’s Annual Public Accounts.
The sharp rise from 17.4 billion New Leones (about US$764 million) recorded in 2024 was largely driven by increased issuance of Treasury Bills, which remain the government’s main short-term borrowing instrument.
Treasury Bills issuance rose by about 35 percent during the year to 21.0 billion New Leones (US$923 million), covering 91-day, 182-day and 364-day maturities, compared with 15.6 billion New Leones (US$685 million) the previous year.
The government redeemed 16.4 billion New Leones (US$721 million) worth of Treasury Bills in 2025, up from 11.9 billion New Leones (US$523 million) in 2024, leaving an outstanding balance of 19.3 billion New Leones (US$848 million) at the end of the fiscal year.
That represented a significant increase from the 15.1 billion New Leones (US$663 million) balance recorded a year earlier and highlighted the government’s growing dependence on short-term domestic debt to finance budget deficits and public spending obligations.
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The report also showed that bridging loans obtained from the Bank of Sierra Leone were almost entirely repaid during the year.
The remaining balance on bridging loans fell to 135 million New Leones (about US$5.9 million) by the end of 2025 and was cleared in early 2026.
Meanwhile, Ways and Means advances — temporary central bank financing used to support government operations — increased by 269 million New Leones (US$11.8 million) to close the year at 601 million New Leones (US$26.4 million).
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Such advances are typically expected to be repaid within a short period to avoid prolonged monetary financing of government expenditure.
Longer-term domestic debt instruments remained relatively unchanged during the year.
No one-year government bonds were issued or redeemed in 2025, compared with 34 million New Leones ($1.5 million) in redemptions recorded the previous year.
However, the stock of longer-term securities held by the central bank increased to 6.4 billion New Leones ($281 million) from 4.7 billion New Leones (US$206 million) in 2024.
The portfolio, held entirely by the Bank of Sierra Leone under a 2006 memorandum of understanding with the government, includes 3.2 billion New Leones (US$141 million) in two-year bonds, 1.7 billion New Leones ($75 million) in three-year bonds, 368 million New Leones (US$16 million) in five-year bonds and 1.1 billion New Leones (US$48 million) in zero-coupon bonds.
The government remains responsible for all associated interest and redemption costs linked to those securities, which were partly issued to support the central bank’s capitalisation and monetary operations.
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Economists say the sharp increase in domestic borrowing reflects continued fiscal strain as Sierra Leone seeks to fund public expenditure amid limited external financing options and ongoing economic challenges.
Greater reliance on domestic debt can help governments avoid foreign exchange risks associated with external borrowing, but analysts warn it may also crowd out private sector credit and increase debt servicing costs if borrowing continues to rise rapidly.
