POLICY & THE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK

 

 

INTRODUCTION TO THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE


 

Following the 2018 elections, the new government has begun to implement its New Direction manifesto and has developed the MTNDP. Both the manifesto and the MTNDP exhibit the GoSL’s growth agenda, which has at its core the aims of developing a modern, diversified economy, and ending Sierra Leone’s twin dependency on raw material exports from the extractives sector and foreign aid. Its key focus areas include job creation; improving access to quality education; empowerment of youth, women and the disabled; strengthening anti-corruption measures, improving accountability and transparency; increasing the efficacy and efficiency of public services and strengthening civic responsibility and national cohesion. The GoSL is seeking to create a “Democratic Developmental State” which will make economic development and the redistribution of the benefits of economic growth the top priority. In this regard, the focus is on creating a positive business environment which can drive efficiency, affordable prices, high quality service delivery and increased employment. By extension, the fostering of trade through investment should assist Sierra Leone in moving away from previous over-reliance on donor aid. The GoSL hopes that leveraging new global FDI flows to Africa to develop a value-added export sector will help to create local jobs, revive the local private sector and fund sustainable programmes that should ultimately reduce poverty in the long-term.

The 8 Pillars of the A4P

Pillar 1 – Diversified Economic Growth
Pillar 2 – Managing Natural Resources
Pillar 3 – Accelerating Human Development
Pillar 4 – International Competitiveness
Pillar 5 – Labour and Employment
Pillar 6 – Social Protection
Pillar 7 – Governance and Public Sector Reform
Pillar 8 – Gender and Women’s

The 8 Pillars of the A4P

Pillar 1 – Diversified Economic Growth
Pillar 2 – Managing Natural Resources
Pillar 3 – Accelerating Human Development
Pillar 4 – International Competitiveness
Pillar 5 – Labour and Employment
Pillar 6 – Social Protection
Pillar 7 – Governance and Public Sector Reform
Pillar 8 – Gender and Women’s

An arrangement with the IMF was approved in June 2017. However, due to a long delay, the size of fiscal slippages and significant changes in the macro-financial environment, the June 2017 arrangement was cancelled. On 30 November 2018 the IMF approved a SDR 124.44m (approximately US$172.1m) 43 month arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility. This enabled an immediate disbursement of SDR 15.555m (approximately US$21.5) to Sierra Leone with the remaining amount to be phased over the duration of the programme, subject to semi-annual reviews. The IMF has indicated that the goals of the new programme remain focused on reducing inflation, mobilizing revenue to allow for necessary spending consistent with debt sustainability, safeguarding financial stability, and maintaining external resilience to shocks. Also in November 2018, the EU and the GoSL launched new projects worth €108 million. These projects are intended to support macroeconomic stability (€80 million, with a large proportion of this to be directly disbursed in instalments into the national treasury over the next three years, provided that pre-agreed conditions are met), government reforms, decentralisation and regional competitiveness in Sierra Leone.

The degree of success enjoyed by such projects remains to be seen.

Other positive steps taken to improve the investment climate include the enactment of the Companies Act and the establishment of the FTCC (see the Sierra Leone at a Glance section) in 2010. The JSRSIP III, which covered 2015-2018, included a dedicated commercial law and justice pillar, with plans to strengthen institutional capacity, reform out-dated legislation such as land and labour laws, and accede to relevant international instruments. The GoSL has indicated its intention to revisit that reform strategy and further improve this area. Previous developments in this area included a consultation regarding the establishment of an Enterprise Risk Management Policy (commitment to which the GoSL renewed at the Commonwealth Conference on transparency in the public sector in Ghana in May 2018); the enactment of the LCA; and the publication of the NLP, covering issues from equitable access to land and taxation to the development of more sophisticated planning and land registration regimes. The new government is in the process of developing its economic strategy and priorities, which will include measures to implement the NLP and encourage affordable housing and public amenity development. Since his inauguration, President Maada Bio has acknowledged the importance of a regulatory environment that is transparent and predictable, which thereby provides a secure environment for investment and the growth of business.

The following sections provide an overview of the laws and regulations that affect the entry into and success of FDI within the country and the GoSL’s legislative plans for the future.

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