egy paper, a key element of our fiscal risk mitigation was considered by Cabinet, and request for an expanded analysis to cover the entire public sector is underway. 3.3.5. The Treasury Single Account (TSA) was adopted as a measure to unify and link accounts through which the Government tracks all revenues and payments to give a consolidated view of Government cash position. The unified Government bank account is geared towards facilitating better fiscal coordination and reconciliation of fiscal information. Implementation of Treasury Single Account (TSA) is applied across all Ministries, and selected Sub-vented Agencies. When fully applied, it will improve government’s cash management with the final aim of reducing the cost of Government borrowings. The Government of Sierra Leone encourages relevant line departments to strengthen and enhance their capacity to ensure effective implementation of fiscal planning processes in support of the broader development goals of the country. In particular, the mining sector to be transparently managed for the benefit of all Sierra Leoneans. 3.3.6 MDAs and Local Councils staff members trained in budget preparation -In line with efforts to adhere to and strengthen the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) process, MDAs and Local Councils have been trained in preparation of budgets and deployed budget officers in key MDAs. The addition to several budget officers already deployed in key MDAs, the recent recruitment of 30 Economists and 20 additional Budget Officers to be deployed in MDAs in FY2017 will give impetus to planning, monitoring, data collection and reporting across government. 3.3.7 The Government of Sierra Leone establishes the right balance between spending on basic infrastructure and social services while the Government of Sierra Leone’s current effort. Despite high expenditures on infrastructure development, Government remained committed to provide necessary funds on the social sector, especially in providing safety nets during and after Ebola. In order to ameliorate the socio-economic impact of Ebola, Government implemented the following Social Safety Net 36 Programmes: • The Rapid Ebola Social Safety Nets Programme, targeting about 9,000 Ebola-affected households in Kailahun, Kenema, Bo, Tonkolili and Port Loko districts and the Western Area Rural districts; • Cash transfer to over 23,000 extremely poor and vulnerable households under the regular • The Conditional Cash Transfer scheme helped 12,000 youths in Moyamba, Bombali, Kono and Western Area Rural Districts. OBJECTIVE 2: Implementing sound, transparent and predictable government economic policies 3.3.8. Supporting the private sector – Government’s determination to strengthen the private sector saw the supporting of 1000 medium and small scale enterprises to increase their competitiveness across key value chains (H.E.s Speech to Parliament 2016). Government has also completed the digital re-registration of 869 companies in the Corporate Affairs Commission Database, making them available on line. Action has also been taken to improve access to commercial justice including some decentralization case processing to increase access in the districts. These actions are paying dividend as shown in the country’s Doing Business Rating. Sierra Leone was 147 out of 189 countries in the 2015 rating in the Doing Business. The country recorded key improvements in regulating reforms that make it easier to do business in the country. Under the paying taxes indicator in 2015, Sierra Leone made major reforms including the introduction of e-filing for goods and services tax; improvement of the domestic tax information system to include a banking module, online application for a Tax Payer Identification Number (TIN) and the creation of a Board of Appellate Commission for NRA and creating a one-shop for starting business – the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Additionally, in its quest to ensure access to finance by private sector operatives, a policy on the securitisation of land was approved by Cabinet and the recommendations therein are being implemented. The policy will allow private sector operatives to use land for loans and other banking facilities. In the transport sector, the containers terminal at the Freetown port has been contracted to a private French company Bollore for 20 years to improve efficiency of container handling. It is expected that the Freetown APRM Sierra Leone | Annual Progress Report