The resolve of President Julius Maada Bio (who clocks four years in power in April) to reposition Sierra Leone, remains strong
By Abubakar Hashim /Sierra Leone
As Sierra Leone celebrates its 61 years of Independence from Britain on April 27, 2022, the country, though small in size and population, is globally known, for big ambitions in vital sectors. Before independence, the country was the foundation epitome of knowledge; Fourah Bay College was the bedrock of learning for many Africans, particularly West Africans.
There are also endless opportunities in agriculture, mining, tourism, roads and many more, ready to be tapped. Agriculture is the sector in the country that has the biggest opportunity for investment.
President Julius Maada Bio prides himself as the “Chief farmer”. His government puts a premium on agriculture, with emphasis on agribusiness development, through increased productivity along with the value-chain, through food and nutrition security nationwide.
Sierra Leone has potential for agricultural production and productivity with about 5 million hectares of arable land to achieve this potential. There is a need to strengthen the existing government’s efforts to develop human and institutional capacity, to respond to the burning demands of a challenging and diverse commercial environment. There is also the need to increase organizational capacity for value addition and access to markets, leading to a buildup of governance of food and nutrition security infrastructure.
Education is the flagship program of President Bio’s government. Since the introduction of the Free Quality Education FQE in 2018, the government has recruited 10,268 teachers nationwide. The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Dr David Sengeh once remarked: “Teachers make up 40% of the entire government payroll, with over 4,000 teachers have been placed on the right pay grade. Over 300 school heads have been regularized, with over 1,000 teachers recruited in 2021. Today, there are over 36,000 teachers on the government payroll.” Investment in education is key in the promotion of Human Capital Development HCD of the government.”
Mining has long been the cash cow of the country. There is a new mining policy in 2019. The prime objective of the mining policy is to set out a clear framework that will guide the improvement of the mining sector governance and enhance environmental protection, and community and occupational safety hazards.
There are 11 large scale mining companies, mining gold, diamonds, bauxite, iron ore, rutile and zircon, as of March 2021.
The Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources is responsible for the administration of the mining sector and is regulated by the Mines and Mineral Act of 2009. The control of all minerals is vested in the state. The government has undertaken an aerial geo survey of all minerals in the country, in a bid to strengthen negotiating position of the government with foreign investors.
Tourism is the “sleeping” revenue spinner of the country. Though endowed with topographical and touristic scenes, nationwide, the touristic sector is yet to accrue the much-expected revenue returns, compared to the neighbouring Gambia. Sierra Leone has better touristic sites than the Gambia. There are ongoing policy reforms in the sector to restore hope in this vital revenue spinner of the economy,
In the roads sector, 200 kilometres of roads were constructed and completed in 2021, according to the Minister of Works and Public Assets, Peter Buyuka Conteh, in a media retreat in Bo on 26th November 2021. He confirmed a huge number of roads under construction will be completed in 2022. The government has ratified the Dakar Abidjan Treaty, which encourages countries in the sub-region to embark on the construction of 6 lanes highways. Also, 13 hand-operated cable ferry crossing points will be replaced with bridges. The World Bank and the European Union are to fund these projects. The Road sector is, indeed, an investment opportunity, as slated by the Minister of Finance Dennis Vandi in the financial year 20222, the “government will consolidate the construction of crucial roads and bridges to facilitate the movement of agricultural produces, goods, services and people nationwide.
The overall performance of the economy, according to the Finance Minister, is “at the moment stable, but considerable uncertainty looms, as COVID-19 and the ongoing Ukraine/Russian crises linger.”
Presenting Budget 2022 on Friday, 19 November 2021, the Finance Minister revealed that total exports in Q1, 2021, increased by $107 million to $301 million, from $191 million during the same period in 2020. It means, the economy recovered from contraction in 2020, due to policy shift in agriculture, resumption of iron-ore mining, increase in construction, manufacturing activities, and recovery in trade, transport and tourism sectors. The recovery growth is projected to record a positive GDP growth rate of 3.2% on a budget of Le9.94 Trillion in 2022.
A re-denomination of the country’s currency, the Leone, is complete but yet to be circulated. The three last zeros are no longer featured on each of the denominated currencies. The Central Bank Governor, Prof Kelfala Kallon, is upbeat that the re-denominated currencies though will not solve all the country’s financial problems, will facilitate trade transactions and ease of doing business.
As the global food and energy crisis worsen, due to the ongoing Russia/Ukraine crisis, the country’s economic parameters remain, relatively, stable, though there are hikes in prices of fuel and basic foods in the market, with no acute shortages recorded.
There is a relatively stable supply of fuel and power in the current global energy and food crises. The country currently uses 40 per cent of its present 198,000 metric tonnes storage capacity due to major refurbishment ongoing. Its leading petroleum marketer, National Petroleum, NP, is currently refurbishing its gallantry and storage facilities. However, the sector has a limited number of importers and is now open to investors in its value chain.
There is petroleum products availability, despite the current global energy crisis, anchored on a government strategic plan to maintain the stock level for months, to mitigate external shocks.
Though government boost trade finance to oil markets, with average weekly forex demand of $20 million, the country has a challenge of working petroleum jetty, with only 3 importers, to meet the 1.5 million litres per day consumption demand nationwide.
The Bio–led administration, recently clocked 4 years in power on April 4, 2022, with just about 300 days away from a Presidential election in June 2003.
A former military leader in the early ’90s, Ltd. Brigadier Julius Maada Bio’s scorecard, as the country celebrates 61, is relatively impressive, given tough call challenges, amid natural calamities, like COVID-19 and the ongoing war in Ukraine, with its global economic impacts.
Sierra Leone is predominantly an import-oriented country. The productive sector is at its low ebb, compared with its West African neighbours, like Guinea or Ivory Coast. The then Wellington Industrial estate is a shadow of its former self. Many factories have closed due to bad past governance policies. A few industries have commenced production, particularly in semi-processed agricultural industries, the focal point of President Bio’s economic management team. Agriculture remains the mainstay of the economy.
At 61, the big ambitions of the country are beginning to gain visibility. The new international airport terminal at Lungi, by the Turkish firm Suma, has commenced construction. The search for investors for the construction of a bridge, linking the airport, separated from the capital city by an estuary, is still ongoing. A new financial capital at Lungi, where the international airport is located, is still on the drawing board.
At 61, the country survived a series of catastrophes. A bloody 11 years of civil war, an Ebola epidemic, a devastating mudslide, a global COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war with a global impact. Despite all the cataclysmic catastrophes, Sierra Leone remains the most peaceful country in West Africa, fortified with a promising future. As President Bio remarked at the launch of the first National Health Summit at the Bintumani Conference Center, on April 7, 2022, ‘’…the country should not be defined by the stigma of the past…we should change the story and narrative…with the phrase, ‘’why not”, in all our aims and tasks to development.