Sierra Leone’s parliament passes national investment board bill

Sierra Leone like other frontier and emerging markets faces an increasingly complex if not hostile external financing environment, One in which dependence on concessional financing and mechanisms like public private partnerships (PPPs) is expected to increase. Against this backdrop, Sierra Leone’s parliament passed a bill on 17 May that would change the way businesses are registered and regulated in the country.

The bill would establish a National Investment Board (NIB) with sweeping powers over the investment climate under the stated purpose of unifying the regulatory process for investors. It is the latest step in a reform process that has included corruption investigations and the review of medium-term policy in 2018, the launch of a new corporate governance code in 2019 and a new National Public Investment Management Policy in 2021.

Significance – As far as it goes

On the one hand, the new architecture brings a number of key implementing agencies in the same house, alongside chief policy makers in cabinet. Theoretically, this could improve policy implementation. However, these innovations do not address the portion of volatility owing to partisan political interference.

1.     Termination

Three agencies would be terminated and their roles transferred to the NIB.

  • Corporate Affairs Commission

  • Sierra Leone Investment and Promotion Agency

  • Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit

2.     Composition

The new NIB would be composed of four units.

  • Business Facilitation – grants permits and licenses.

  • PPP – administers the country’s PPP Act 2014 regarding contracts.

  • Investment and Export Promotion – facilitates relations between investors and the government.

  • Corporate Affairs – administers the Companies Act 2014 for the registration and regulation of companies.

3.     Governance

The NIB was envisioned to be a cabinet extension. Section 7 of the bill presented to parliament by Finance Minister Dennis states, “The Board shall be the highest policymaking body on investment in Sierra Leone.” Accordingly, the president and vice president are proposed as chairperson and co-chairperson of the NIB respectively. Eight ministers would also be on the board alongside others to be appointed at the president’s discretion.

  • President

  • Vice President

  • Chief Minister

  • Finance Minister

  • Justice Minister

  • Mines Minister

  • Trade Minister

  • Economic Development Minister

  • Lands Minister

  • Foreign Affairs Minister

  • Governor, Bank of Sierra Leone

Outlook - Elections ahead

Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in June 2023. In them, President Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) will be seeking a second term.  Should the SLPP lose, the NIB leadership will likely change continuing a longstanding pattern. Bio replaced the head of the Corporate Affairs Commission and the central bank governor after he took charge in 2018 – two positions now on the NIB. He also most recently suspended the country’s auditor-general who was preparing to publish a government audit.

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*Photo credit: Bunting Kargbo

Nana Ampofo