A chat with Sierra Leone’s national investment chief
Sierra Leone’s net FDI inflows declined from 11% of GDP in 2017 to 5% in 2021. To change that trend, in July 2022, President Maada Bio signed into law the National Investment Board (NIB) Act aimed at simplifying the regulatory process.
Now, Marda Mustapha has been appointed as the NIB executive director, and he’s looking to reform the way that businesses are set up and regulated in the country. He spoke to us about the ongoing transition and the NIB’s reform plan.
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1. It’s been nearly a year since the NIB law was enacted, stating that a number of entities (e.g., PPP Unit and Corporate Affairs Commission) would be absorbed into the NIB to unify the regulatory process. But it looks like the transition is still in progress. At what stage is the process presently, and what are the next steps to be completed (and when)?
De facto, those agencies are still operating as usual for now. We’re telling investors to continue dealing with those agencies until the transition is complete, likely this December. We’re presently training and integrating staff from the merging entities – and also engaging with the private sector to make sure everyone understands the changes we’re making to the regulatory system.
2. What’s the NIB and how is it going to work in practice?
The idea is for all agencies to collaborate so we can facilitate investments quickly. We want the NIB to be the first stop for investors – a sort of clearing house.
The way it works is, an investor comes in and walks first to the NIB. We review their proposed project, check their background, set timelines and make recommendations to our board for approval. Previously, an investor had to go separately to each ministry – mines, environment, or labor – and when they hit bottlenecks, they didn’t know where else to go.
Now, we’ll run around for the investor. We’ll do the coordination for them because the key ministries are all in one place represented on the NIB board. It’s like a mini cabinet.
3. Indeed, the NIB board is statutorily headed by President Bio himself and mostly composed of his cabinet ministers. How will this dynamic affect the way that the NIB is governed?
Sierra Leone’s economy is mainly extractive. Most investors are looking at natural resources, and so we thought the best person to oversee investment management is the president. And this is not just Sierra Leone. If you look at other countries that depend on extractives, the head of state tends to chair the board.
When most investors come into Sierra Leone, they want to see the president. But some investors have more access to the president than others. Now, all investors have equal access to the president through the NIB. If an investment proposal is good, it will get to the president because he’s the head of the board.
4. The NIB Act doesn’t seem to specify your tenure as executive director. How do you view this arrangement?
On tenure, our lawmakers reasoned that the constitution grants the president the authority to hire and remove appointees – with or without the existence of a tenure. So, they thought it wouldn’t make much difference to state one for the executive director of the NIB.
But the NIB secretariat, which I head as the executive director, is still set up to operate with autonomy. We do the bulk of the work and recommend actions to the board, which the board then ultimately approves or rejects. It sets the policies; we implement them. The board gives the secretariat the political backing to do its job – based on our recommendations.
For example, if things get stuck at a ministry, we can go directly to the board to resolve the problem on behalf of the investor.
5. General elections are scheduled to be held in Sierra Leone on 24 June. How might these affect the policies and structure of the NIB?
The NIB is not just a formation of the president. It’s a statutory institution and will continue to operate smoothly no matter the outcome of the elections.
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