\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I have noticed a positive trend in terms of establishing and operating a business in Sierra Leone,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d adds Gaiva Lavaly, managing director of International Consulting Services, a Sierra Leonean engineering firm, who says that the commissioning of the Bumbuna Dam has significantly improved the business landscape.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The previous regime did a lot of legislative framework in terms of conducting business,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d observes Wilfred Sam King, owner of the recently opened Taia Resort hotel in Freetown, and one of Sierra Leone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s best-known entrepreneurs. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That framework was quite vital. However, implementation and acting on those strategies was a bottleneck problem,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he continues.<\/p>\n
Turning his attention to the administration of president Koroma, he begins with a cautious endorsement. \u00e2\u20ac\u009dI think they are in office for nearly two years now. It is absolutely unfair for anyone to just wake up and say they have not done well. They need time,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he says, adding that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This government is coming in under a very difficult situation. [Because of the global economic downturn] They don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have easy access to funds that the previous government had.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Steps are being taken, and for me that is where I believe the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Agenda for Change seriously needs to be supported, until such a time that it becomes practically and visibly clear that they cannot deliver.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Sipping from a cup of tea in London\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s upmarket Fortnum & Mason department store on the eve of the investment forum, John Sisay, the Chief Executive of Titanium Resources, Sierra Leone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest private sector employer, begins his assessment of the country\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s private sector development prospects with an ominous warning.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In the next few years the government has got to decide whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s interested in wealth creation or wealth appropriation. When you have countries the size of Sierra Leone that have mineral wealth, government generally tend to lean towards appropriation. By that I mean they tax more, and have cumbersome administrative frameworks,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he adds. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think this is the biggest challenge for them now. It really is a case of the brave shall win the day in terms of the kind of policies they bring in.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Looking at the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s track record so far, his tone is decidedly optimistic. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There is no question that they understand the need for the private sector. In terms of understanding the private sector they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got some work to do, to be honest,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he says, but is quick to add that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153this is not a criticism, it is just the fact that you are looking at a country where you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t had a lot of people who build corporations and businesses, so understanding of the private sector is limited.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Mr Sisay also emphasizes the importance of partnership with the government. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I have worked in a lot of African countries, usually [governments] are very aggressive, they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand you and there is always an adversarial relationship between company and government. We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have that. That is not to say we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have our fights, of course we do. But we can have our fights and laugh afterwards.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
He does, however, reserve some criticism for the government in an area in which he feels that more action is needed in order to improve the private sector\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s business experience in Sierra Leone. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The one thing that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s missing \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and they are going to hate me for saying this \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is the civil servants. They are, in my view, the biggest stumbling block to development. I know that this is something they have been thinking about, but in terms of government working efficiently, they just need to have a massive civil service reform.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
This, however, does nothing to dampen his optimism about Sierra Leone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s development prospects in the coming years. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think Sierra Leone is poised to take off. The people are at that place where they are not willing to accept anything less. The confidence I have about Sierra Leone is that the people are so hungry for a change that any leadership that wants to take it backwards will not be allowed to.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
By Africa Financial Times<\/address>\nStay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I have noticed a positive trend in terms of establishing and operating a business in Sierra Leone,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d adds Gaiva Lavaly, managing director of International Consulting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":75801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[673,1],"tags":[2251],"class_list":["post-5629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news","category-uncategorized","tag-focus-on-sierra-leone"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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