Ow di bodi?

Greetings to you and yours!

Sierra Leone undoubtedly received a lot of international attention in the past month - even better is the fact that this was mostly for all the right reasons. With the exception of our athletes who went missing in action (again!) in Australia of course.

To add to the fact that the First International Conference was held in the country, Charles Taylor was arrested and is finally being brought to justice. Kenya Airways - an international airline of very good reputation has started operating flights to Lungi Airport and Total, the French petroleum giant has taken over Mobil Oil Company's operations in Sierra Leone.

Back to the investment conference. Unfortunately I felt it was slightly overshadowed by the Taylor and Athletes saga. Nevertheless, this was another positive step in the right direction as Sierra Leone tries to revive its economy. I was fortunate enough to attend the forum and I was always asked by friends, family and anyone who knew I attended - "so wetin den say?" Sometimes this question was asked with an underlying tone of damaged faith in such events but I also got the sense that people craved answers which would relight their optimism. Often I was tempted to make extravagant stuff up but the truth is the event itself was positive news and there's no disguising that. Please read the communique for summary of the acheivements of the conference.

There were potential investors there from the UK, U.S.A, Nigeria, South Africa, Ireland and China to name but a few. Local companies had a chance to interact with international organisations on a one to one basis which created unique networking opportunities.

Government have promised to look into the various challenges to investing in Sierra Leone - infrastructure, incentives, ports, land ownership issues, policies, administrative barriers etc. Their progress will be monitored. They also promised to engage the Sierra Leone Diaspora in plans for the future development of Sierra Leone. The Irish Minister ot State said in no uncertain terms that the Diaspora played a vital road during Ireland's quest to turn its economy round a few decades ago. I am confident that the Sierra Leone Diaspora is ready, willing and able to make similar contributions.

At this point I must mention that the Minister of Trade - Hon. Kadie Sesay - got a lot of commendations from various speakers at the forum such as Hon Conor Lenihan, T.D, Irish Minister of State who paid tribute to her persistence in getting him to attend the forum. She was at the forum each day listening to many proposals from business people. A high ranking foreign worker said to me that "Sierra Leone needs a few more Kadie Sesays in government and things would move a lot faster". It is only fair that credit is paid where it is due. Keep up the good work Madam Minister!

So basically, a lot was said but only time will tell the value of such words. The long term success depends on all sides delivering on their promises.

For more information on the forum please check out the following resources:

Read this summary at the end of the the conference:
http://www.cbcglobelink.org/cbcglobelink/events/Sierra%20Leone/documents/postforumcommunique.pdf

Click on the Speakers to access their presentations:
http://www.cbcglobelink.org/cbcglobelink/events/Sierra%20Leone/agenda.htm

Some pictures:
http://forum.visitsierraleone.org/forum_posts.asp?TID=1066&PN=1&TPN=4

I did my best to keep a log:
http://blogs.visitsierraleone.org

Administrative barriers to investing in Sierra Leone Study Phase1 (must read!). This is a 160 page document from International Finance Corporation (IFC-http://www.ifc.org/) and Foreign Investment Advisory Service (FIAS - http://www.fias.net/). It is 4mb heavy but definitely worth a read.
http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/fias.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/FIAS_Resources_SierraLeone_AdministrativeBarriers
_Phase1(FY2005)/$FILE/Sierra+Leone+-+Administrative+Barriers+Phase+1+-+Mar.2005.pdf

Bimbola

Check Out...

Last June, during the Conference on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration which Sierra Leone hosted in its capital Freetown, it became clear that in Africa, at least, the country is no longer associated with war and conflict. On the contrary, it is praised for the success of its transition to peace and stability, and is now upheld as a model to follow for other nations emerging from civil conflict. This report is a must read: http://www.summitreports.com/sierraleone2006/ Discuss in the forum: http://forum.visitsierraleone.org/forum_posts.asp?TID=1214&PN=1

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