The Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA) has embarked on three days engagement with Ministries, Departments and Agencies and selected local investors to further strengthen SLIEPA’S relationship and collaboration with them, to identify local economic development initiatives relating to investment opportunities and to provide list of investors operating in Bo District. The visit took place from the 23rd -26th, May 2019.
When making his maiden statements, SLIEPA Deputy Director, Head of Provinces, Mr. Alex J Mammy, said SLIEPA was established by an Act of Parliament in 2007 to facilitate and to promote investment and export in Sierra Leone. He noted that the visit was important to deepen the already existing relationship with the selected MDAs and local investors at district level in a bid to consolidate the New Direction Drive towards economic and human capital development. He further explained the composition of the Agency.
Furthermore, Mrs. Phebean Jaia, Investment Promotion Officer in SLIEPA, reiterated that among other reasons, the relevance of the collaborative relationship with MDAs is to find answers to some frequently asked questions by investors and to have their timely intervention in terms of documentation and providing technical information needed by SLIEPA in the course of facilitating investors. She said the request for list of investors operating in the District is to provide Aftercare services for their investment being that some investors evade SLIPEA when establishing their business and only turn to the Agency when they encounter issues.
In his presentation, the Provincial Secretary South, Mr. Simeon P Fatoma, expressed much appreciation to SLIEPA; calling its efforts to strengthen relationship with relevant institution in their Region as unprecedented. We are aware of investors circumventing procedures leading to their operations, but the collaboration is a step to it mitigation if not eradication, he noted. P.S Fatorma assured SLIEPA of providing any needful information.
When briefing SLIEPA on labour policies in Sierra Leone, Mr. Jeremiah Ademokula, the Senior Labour and Employment Officer of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in Bo, said the Country has Employers and Employed Act and the Regulation of Wages and Regulation Act as the two principal labour laws covering all industries in the Country. He said gazettes are laws covering specific industries and they are formed out of agreement on terms and conditions between employees, employers and the trade union of those specific industries. He also noted that there is a Business Startup Act that regulates the employment of foreign nationals.
According to statements from Officials in the Ministry of Agriculture, Bo, there are potential investment opportunities in the Region. They said it has been proven that onions can grow in Bo West at Kpetemah Gbompeh and Bo North-East in Galu Bagbeh area is a suitable game site for touristic purposes; saying that there are enough land apposite for the cultivation of rice, vegetable, fruit, cassava, maize, and groundnut. The Sierra Leone Marketing Produce Board also affirmed that cashew and cocoa are doing well in the District.
Mr. Lamin Tarawalli, from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), proposed a Memorandum of Understanding with SLIEPA on which further discussions will be held.
Other MDAs visited were : Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, FFS, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources (NMA), SLPMC,), Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Bennimix Food Company, Family Poultry and Abaja Rice Processing Company.
In another engagement the Acting Directors of Marketing and communications. Investment Promotion and Export Development were in Bo and Kenema over the weekend on a community media outreach sensitization programme.
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