“Lies” About $2.2B Mission 300 World Bank Energy Project For Salone Exposed

A press release from the Government of Sierra Leone dated 24th September 2025 states that the Government has received endorsement of over $2B for electricity by World Bank.
This information was received with joy by most Sierra Leoneans anticipating that this money will be provided to invest in energy in Sierra Leone. But is the world Bank going to provide $2.2B for Sierra Leone???
“Sierra Leone has achieved a historic milestone with the official endorsement of its USD 2.2 billion Mission 300 Energy Compact, the largest infrastructure development plan in the nation’s history. The endorsement was announced at the Bloomberg Global Forum 2025, with support from the World Bank Group (WBG), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and other key partners,” the release from state house stated.
It is however important for Sierra Leoneans to understand the whole idea of the Mission 300 World Bank Project.
The idea behind this project is how World Bank will leverage private sector intervention into renewable energy that will see over 300 million Africans have access to electricity by 2030.
On the 25th of September, 17 African governments committed to reforms and actionable plans to expand electricity access as part of Mission 300—an ambitious partnership led by the World Bank Group and African Development Bank Group that aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.
So, what happened in Washington is a commitment made by 17 African countries including Sierra Leone to make reforms and develop actionable plans. It is never an endorsement of 2.2B for Sierra Leone.
“At the Bloomberg Philanthropists Global Forum, national Energy Compacts—practical blueprints that guide public spending, trigger reforms, and attract private capital—were endorsed by Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, the Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, São Tomé and Principe, Sierra Leone, and Togo,” World Bank noted.
The World Bank President further accentuated that by stating “electricity is the bedrock of jobs, opportunity, and economic growth, that’s why Mission 300 is more than a target—it is forging enduring reforms that slash costs, strengthen utilities, and draw in private investment.”
From the statement of the world Bank President, one will clearly see that the World Bank is not dishing $2.2B to Sierra Leone or any other country for its energy programmes.
According to World Bank, since the launch of Mission 300, 30 million people have already been connected, with more than 100 million in the pipeline.
What the World Bank, African Development Bank and other partners will do is to provide technical support for Sierra Leone and other countries to make reforms that will attract private sector player in Sierra Leone’s renewable energy potentials.
“National Energy Compacts are at the core of Mission 300, developed and endorsed by governments with technical support from development partners. Tailored to each country’s context, these practical blueprints integrate three core tracks—infrastructure, financing, and policy,” the World Bank maintained.
World Bank further explained that early this year, Energy Compacts were endorsed by Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia—together pledging to make more than 400 policy actions to strengthen utilities, reduce investor risk, and remove bottlenecks.
From the statements of World Bank, it is evidenced that World Bank will support reforms that will remove incumbrances to investment by di-risking the energy sector to attract private sector investment into the renewable energy potentials of Sierra Leone.
Usual Credible sources within the World Bank explained to NEW AGE that as a way of supporting Sierra Leone, World Bank will ensure that part of the country’s International Development Assistance (IDA) will be used to support reforms in the energy that will in turn remove these bottlenecks to attract private sector investments.
The Finance Minister Sheku Ahmed Fantamahdi Bangura in a press conference about the so called 2.2 billion dollars said that in five years World Bank will provide a total of $500M to Sierra Leone as its International Development Assistance but that 50% of that money will be used to leverage private sector investment in the Energy Sector.
From the Statement of the Finance Minister, World Bank will only provide $250M in five years to leverage private sector intervention into Sierra Leone’s renewable energy potentials and not $2.2B as being paraded.