Concord Times (Freetown)
6 November 2008
Freetown — Manager of the international finance cooperation, IFC's Africa investment climate team David Bridgman Thursday said that the government was serious about improving the investment climate in the country.
He told Concord Times that the country was the easiest place to start a business in West Africa, according to Doing Business 09, an annual analysis of the ease of doing business in 181 economies published by IFC and the World Bank.
He said the government was reviewing and modifying laws and removing the barriers that hinder Sierra Leone's investment climate. Recent reforms have been made in the areas of starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property and trading across borders.
The minister of trade and industry Alimamy Petito Koroma said the government has opened up its policy for people who want to come and do business in the country. "We can now register your business within two days. We are also merging resident and work permits."
Bridgman noted that the government was committed to the reform process.
Recently the President set up a committee to coordinate with the relevant ministries and the private sector to continue to stimulate business reforms so that the country could become a better place to do business and as a result, attract quality investment.
He noted that IFC was working at the invitation of government to advise it on implementing reforms. The advisory support has resulted in a number of reforms that are beginning to have a notable effect on the cost, procedures and time of doing business.
"We don't do capacity building but we do provide technical assistance," he said.
More work needs to be done to simplify customs procedures and ease tax hurdles and other regulatory requirements that make it difficult or unappealing for smaller businesses to enter the formal sector of the economy, he observed.
"An important part of the reform process is fostering dialogue between the government and the private sector. The Sierra Leone Business Forum, supported by IFC, provides a platform for the private sector to promote investment-friendly policies and to sensitize the government and the general public on important business issues," he stressed.
However, Amadu Mansaray, who sells Sierra Leonean items such as T-shirts, country cloth, carvings, gara clothes, and locally made dress, said his sales aren't very good now.
He called on government to create a strong policy to enable investors to come and do their business, noting that a national microfinance scheme, wherein low-income traders could get small loans to grow their business, would benefit business in Sierra Leone.
Meanwhile the IFC investment climate team for Africa would also undertake an advisory project to identify public policies and instruments that would attract responsible international private investment into the diamond, tourism and other sectors. The goal is to increase corporate social responsibility and stimulate improved business standards.
The investment climate team in Sub-Saharan Africa provides advisory services on behalf of the World Bank Group. The team is managed by IFC and draws staff and resources from across the Bank Group and development partners to help governments in Africa achieve successful reform.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Concord Times. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
