Minister of defence Wednesday said he was not satisfied with the budget allocated to his ministry by the ministry of finance.

Palo Conteh told journalists at the conference room of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces in Freetown that the budget was too small to run the institution adding that, "I want more money for the army." He said he was working assiduously with the small budget to improve the armed forces but that there was nothing he could do to get more resources from the government.

"I am working with the little budget given to me. I have over 100% interest in the armed forces," he said.

Conteh said he was unhappy with newspapers which published articles about his personal life.

He said the articles published on the newspapers did not have any iota of truth arguing they were only bent on destroying his image.

Director of public relations and information Colonel Kabia said in the search and rescue operations of the maritime wing of the army some 150 lives have been saved since June.

She said causes of sea disasters were as a result of poor maintenance of outboard machines and disregard for safety rules.