Sierra Leone says energy, agriculture projects welcome by SL firms
SIERRA LEONE - Improving the business setting and wooing foreign investors are top priorities for Sierra Leone as it endeavours to rid itself of over-dependency on an import-led economy.
Investing in the country’s future in order to assure the country’s large youth population that a better future lies ahead, with better schools and improved economic opportunities, the new government, led by President (Retired) Brigadier Julius Maada Bio, has taken a series of initiatives to facilitate private and foreign investment.
Sierra Leone’s economy is strongly reliant on the agricultural sector (contributed 47.9 per cent to GDP in 2014) and is one of the largest sources of job creation (employing 68.5 per cent in 2014). With an estimated 5.4 million hectares of arable land, abundant farmland, wide-ranging ecosystem, fertile soil, and ample rainfall mainstay to agricultural success over the years, the government is enticing foreign direct investment in this area. “Agriculture is one of the diversified sectors the government is focusing its
growth potential on,” Sheku Lexmond Koroma, CEO Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency ( SLIEPA) said sitting down with the Business Times last week to highlight how important it is for the country to secure foreign investment in not only agriculture, but also the energy sector.
Strengthening the energy sector in the country would make the economy more productive, create more jobs, and improve industrialisation and also improve the quality of life of Sierra Leoneans, he said adding that Sri Lankans are welcome to invest in both these sectors. “Already we have Sunbird Bioenergy (SL) Ltd which has not only a sugarcane plant in the region of Makeni, in Northern Sierra Leone but with it also has a 32 Mega Watt (MW) Biomass renewable energy power plant in the same premises. We want more such investment."
Sunbird is the only Sri Lankan firm with such a large scale project in West Africa and is set to substitute Sierra Leone's sugar imports which are 40,000 metric tonnes of sugar each year. When the factory is in full swing, it will be producing 100,000 metric tonnes. Mr. Koroma said that the balance of 60,000 metric tonnes will be facilitated by SLIEPA to be exported to other Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries.
He also said that the government will impose a higher tax on importation of sugar in a bid to promote Sierra Leone produced sugar thus creating an enabling environment for the local investments to thrive. “Imports will be discouraged to aid companies such as Sunbird.” The tax for sugar in ECOWAS region is only 0.5 per cent hence Sunbird is set to capture this region. Mr. Koroma said that 70 per cent of Sierra Leone’s land hasn’t been used. “So our primary focus will be investments in agriculture.”
Sierra Leone is blessed with plentiful rainfall and sufficient topographic relief that creates substantial potential for hydro- power generation throughout the country while it also has abundant sunlight, which is seasonal complementary to hydro power sources, thereby creating strong opportunities in solar power generation.
The country’s energy demands are massively underserved with conservative estimates of currently unmet demand continually increasing. As the country develops and becomes increasingly industrialised, especially with the development of large-scale mining projects and integration of Sierra Leone into the West Africa Power Pool, demand for energy in Sierra Leone will increase and so will the need for related investments, Mr. Koroma added.
Highlighting on ' after care' for investors, he said that SLIEPA is ramping up this area. He defined this as the range of activities from post-establishment facilitation services of a foreign firm through to developmental support to retain investment, encourage follow- on investment and achieve greater local economic impact.
"When investors encounter any problems, after care intervenes in the situation and solves the problems so that the project does not come to a standstill. This is a core activity for any investment promotion intermediary assisting investment projects or aiming to increase the economic impact of the existing investment projects."
What the international companies need from the host economy is facilitation, he said. "When someone comes to your house, a chair is given to make the visitor feel welcome. This is what SLIEPA will do.” This is achieved through the development of a structured service offer that includes administrative, operational and strategic support to the foreign firms, by establishing a one stop shop which will be the National Investment Board, he added.