By Jasmine Jumu Kanneh
Freetown, Sierra Leone – May 2025 — Fresh controversy has erupted around Pavi Fort Al-Associates Group Ltd and its CEO, businessman Alimu Barrie, following revelations that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have suspended funding for Sierra Leone due to mounting concerns over corruption and financial mismanagement in government infrastructure spending.
At the center of the storm is an alleged $67 million payment made to Pavi Fort for road construction projects that critics say are largely invisible or incomplete. The payment, confirmed by multiple government sources, has triggered widespread backlash amid questions over accountability and transparency.
The IMF’s decision to freeze support came after high-level meetings with Sierra Leonean officials in April, where concerns were raised about unsanctioned disbursements and political favoritism in the awarding of contracts. A subsequent government press release acknowledged the suspension of program funding for 2025, without directly referencing Pavi Fort but citing “ongoing assessments of public investment management.”
According to insiders at the Ministry of Finance, the amount paid to Pavi Fort stood out not only for its size—unprecedented for a single contractor—but also because of the company’s alleged political connections. Alimu Barrie, the CEO of Pavi Fort, is widely seen as being closely aligned with senior figures in the ruling government, a relationship critics argue has shielded the company from scrutiny.
“Pavi Fort has become a state within a state,” said one senior civil servant who spoke on condition of anonymity. “No other local contractor receives this kind of preferential treatment—and certainly not at this scale, with so little to show for it.”
While Pavi Fort and its defenders claim the company operates under a performance-based model and undertakes projects across West Africa, citizens and watchdog groups say the firm’s local performance is shrouded in opacity. Several major road projects the company claims to have executed remain difficult to verify, and local communities in areas supposedly benefitting from the infrastructure say they have seen no new roads.
Meanwhile, frustration is growing across the country over the government’s ballooning infrastructure budget, which critics say is being funneled into projects with little transparency or measurable public benefit. Road construction and energy now top public spending charts, but with IMF funding frozen and donor confidence shaken, the pressure is mounting for an independent investigation.
Civil society groups and opposition politicians are calling on the Anti-Corruption Commission, Parliament, and Audit Service Sierra Leone to probe the full extent of the Pavi Fort deal and the role political patronage may have played in it.
“This is not just about roads,” said one MP. “It’s about how taxpayer money is used and whether we’re building a country or enriching a few well-connected individuals.”
As the scandal unfolds, Sierra Leoneans are left to grapple with deteriorating public services, rising unemployment, and a stalled economy—while over $60 million of public funds remains tied to a company now at the center of a national reckoning.
