The report cited the continued disaffection among youth, the lack of accountability in public institutions and recommended efforts to induce attitudinal changes towards a politics of accountability. The report then urged that initiatives be launched to strengthen capacities for conflict transformation. The inadequacies in these intangible areas go to the heart of the problem of how to build - some would say rebuild - social capital, including trust between government and the governed and a greater willingness among individuals to pull together and to value personal integrity and the common good. Excessive centralization of decision making in Freetown; Many organizations have done outstanding work in Sierra Leone. Yet, the government needs to continue to construct other infrastructure including seaports, airports, public utilities, and telecommunications. The ideas and views I plan to share with you this morning reflect the experience of many in the Government of Sierra Leone, but I alone am responsible for the content of this presentation. "Ease of Doing Business in Sierra Leone in 2020, by Topic. We have seen how technology can help improve service delivery and bridge the inequality gap, especially between urban and rural communities. The UN report recommends, for example, that government support: Creation of a Political Party Commission, an all parties association, a stronger National Electoral Commission and district peace committees; September 2019 TheInternational Trade Administration,U.S. Department of Commerce, manages this global trade site to provide access to ITA information on promoting trade and investment, strengthening the competitiveness of U.S. industry, and ensuring fair trade and compliance with trade laws and agreements. Doing business in Sierra Leone is difficult but overcoming the challenges is not impossible, says Nikolai Germann, managing director of Addax Bioenergy in Ernst & Young's 2011 Africa attractiveness survey.. Addax is busy establishing a large-scale sugar cane-to-ethanol factory in Sierra Leone to service the European market.. Germann says the company is experiencing difficulties around labour . The measure captures the median duration that incorporation lawyers indicate is necessary to complete a procedure with minimum follow-up with government agencies and no extra payments. The government also implemented the UNCTAD ASYCUDA World System, an online system that enhances trading across borders. DISPUTE RESOLUTION. The Lady Ellen Women's Aid Foundation (LEWAF-SL) is an autonomous, international non-governmental organization developed in 2008 but formally "established in 2014.". After the return to power in 1998 of the legitimate government, with the assistance of international military intervention, a by then very weak government nevertheless worked tirelessly to re-establish its credibility and to recover those parts of the country still occupied by rebels. I have been asked to address three questions: First, to explain what is meant by a government in difficulty;, Second, to comment on external efforts to lessen or resolve such difficulties with respect to their impact, their benefits and limits, and any gaps; and. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Aid donors and their recipients have searched for the magic development bullet for decades. The ranking is out of 190 countries. Implementation has been accompanied by monitoring and assessments to ensure that the innovations are educational, and to assess whether they have potential for scaling up under the Free Quality School Education programme. Foreign Direct Investment Attraction Events, Services for U.S. Companies New to Exporting, Services for U.S. Companies Currently Exporting, Leading Sectors for US Exports & Investments. GOVERNANCE & RULE OF LAW. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. The total number of days required to register property. One key to rebuilding social capital may be to point out that government, in fact, is not one coherent entity but a collection of individuals with different interests often representing different group interests. In 2020, the World Bank ranked Sierra Leone 163 among 190 countries for the ease of doing business, a drop from 140 in 2015. . Washington, DC 20230. At this point companies are making random donations, pro-bono work which has no . This index ranges from 0 to 7 and has 7 components. Through a competitive process, five organisations innovations were selected for implementation in 170 government-assisted primary schools across the country. Citation, reproduction and or translation of this publication, in whole or in part, for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorised provided the source is fully acknowledged. Home Doing Business in Sierra Leone. The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change supports political leaders and governments to build open, inclusive and prosperous societies in a globalised world. As a Premium user you get access to background information and details about the release of this statistic. Register in seconds and access exclusive features. Yet an enormous potential benefit for both sectors would flow from a more dynamic public-private partnership in critical areas of mutual interest. In response, since 2018 the Government of Sierra Leone has allocated more than 20 per cent of the national budget to education, and President Julius Maada Bio has announced that Human Capital Development (HCD) is the priority of his administration and a key driver in Sierra Leone meeting the UNs Sustainable Development Goals. Support should be based on what is needed and not what the donor wishes to provide. We believe this makes the human being fit for purpose in the 21st century and all ready to fully partake in the global economy; health care by strengthening our health care systems and services; and food security. Photo credit: Getty Images. The time it takes to prepare, file and pay (or withhold) the corporate income tax, value added or sales tax, and labor taxes, including payroll taxes and social contributions (in hours per year). The business environment in the country was not particularly favorable . Second, it was important to understand the context of the country and build solutions with that context in mind. The indicators below describe dimensions of minority investors' protections. It includes all official fees and fees for legal or professional services if such services are required by law for married women. DB 2020 Dealing with Construction Permits Score, DB 2020 Protecting Minority Investors Score, Details Starting a business in Sierra Leone Procedures, time and cost, Figure Starting a business in Sierra Leone Procedures, time and cost, Figure Starting a business in Sierra Leone Scores (0-100), Details Dealing with construction permits in Sierra Leone Procedures, time and cost, Details Dealing with construction permits in Sierra Leone Measure of quality, Figure Dealing with construction permits in Sierra Leone Procedures, time and cost, Figure Dealing with construction permits in Sierra Leone Scores (0-100), Details Getting electricity in Sierra Leone Procedures, time and cost, Details Getting electricity in Sierra Leone Measure of quality, Figure Getting electricity in Sierra Leone Procedures, time and cost, Figure Getting electricity in Sierra Leone Scores (0-100), Details Registering property in Sierra Leone Procedures, time and cost, Details Registering property in Sierra Leone Measure of quality, Figure Registering property in Sierra Leone Procedures, time and cost, Figure Registering property in Sierra Leone Scores (0-100), Details Credit information in Sierra Leone, Figure Getting credit in Sierra Leone Score (0-100), Details Protecting Minority Investors in Sierra Leone Measure of quality, Figure Protecting Minority Investors in Sierra Leone Score (0-100), Details Paying taxes in Sierra Leone - Tax by type, Details Paying taxes in Sierra Leone Measure of quality, Figure Paying taxes in Sierra Leone Scores (0-100), Details Trading across borders in Sierra Leone Components of border compliance, Details Trading across borders in Sierra Leone Trade documents, Details Trading across borders in Sierra Leone Domestic transport, Figure Trading across borders in Sierra Leone Scores (0-100), Details Enforcing contracts in Sierra Leone, Details Enforcing contracts in Sierra Leone Measure of quality, Figure Enforcing contracts in Sierra Leone Scores (0-100), Details Resolving insolvency in Sierra Leone, Details Resolving insolvency in Sierra Leone Measure of quality, Figure Resolving insolvency in Sierra Leone Scores (0-100), http://www.doingbusiness.org/en/methodology. Dealing with construction permits is by far the most complicated and time-consuming aspect of doing business in Argentina. The challenge of exporting. If only VAT or corporate income tax applies, the postfiling index is the simple average of the scores for only the two components pertaining to the applicable tax. Fixing Sierra Leones education system is a perennial challenge. A procedure is defined as any interaction of the company employees or the companys main electrician with external parties. Specifically in the case of Sierra Leone, the private sector could: Approach district councils and propose establishment of Public-Private Partnership Committees that would systematically seek areas where common efforts will help generate private and public sector wealth by strengthening the architecture of democratic governance - legal, regulatory and customary. In order to register your Corporate Entity in Sierra Leone we need the following information: The proposed name of the company; Nature of Business; Name, Address and Contact Telephone numbers of Directors and . It is much easier to recount and analyse the experiences of the past and to comment on the performance of external actors than it is to find specific solutions that work. Over the years, Sierra Leone has made significant reforms in easing the process of setting up a business, including establishing a one-stop shop for company registration. After slowing to 3.5% in 2018 from 3.8% in the previous year, economic growth in Sierra Leone is projected to rebound to 4.8% in 2019 driven by increased activities in agriculture and construction as well as the resumption of iron ore production and exports. Most recently, democracy - sometimes more grandly referred to as democratic governance - has been touted as the cure but democracy is not enough to empower the poor or bind fragmented societies together and there are many examples of so called autocratic governments outperforming democratic ones. The training was an opportunity to test the application and incorporate final feedback for its rollout. The World Bank ranked Sierra Leone 163 among 190 countries in 2020 Doing Business Report, a drop from 140 in 2015. 2. This index ranges from 0 to 6 and has 6 components. At independence in 1961 Sierra Leone had a functioning multi-party democracy that was superimposed on a traditional political structure based on the African system of chieftancy. The message of the brand is delivered to the audience across a variety of touchpoints which include: Social media profiles . The time and cost required to resolve bankruptcies is shown below. Create a national framework for the protection of human rights and free speech; I will nevertheless suggest a few actions that may improve the impact of both government and external actors. The data collected allows the government to track services provided, clearly identify lapses in service provision and work with the relevant pillars mentioned earlier to improve the process. Doing business in Sierra Leone is fraught with problems. There is also a chilling effect on dialogue and debate when donor representatives say, as they have said to me on more than one occasion, this or that development approach is the current consensus within our organizations headquarters. The total number of procedures required for married women to register a firm. Rhetoric from both domestic and international policy actors equated foreign direct investment and robust business growth in Sierra Leone with an exit from fragility. General Observations, Recommendations and Conclusions. In, International Economics. "Ease of doing business in Sierra Leone in 2020, by topic." Find the right person to help you navigate international regulations . I am engaged in many freelance work such as teaching and research. Facebook . Young people make up 80% of Sierra Leone's population. Sierra Leone is also accorded duty-free access to large markets like the European Unions Everything But Arms initiative and the United States African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). It has turned out that there is no magic bullet, that neither financing supposed investment gaps; nor intensive support to education; nor population control; nor structural adjustment; nor privatization; nor debt relief; nor other supposed development solutions have delivered as expected and as promised. Transforming Sierra Leone's data capabilities. The very term that best describes the system of most developed countries, democratic capitalism, acknowledges that democracy and business are inextricably linked in what should be a complementary effort to generate wealth and ensure social harmony. The extent of shareholder rights index measures the role of shareholders in key corporate decisions. FOLLOW US The intervention of the United Nations and creation of UNAMSIL - the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone - combined with strong support from our major donor partners enabled us to restore order, regain control of all national territory and finally, in February 2002, to declare that the war was over. The programme was informed by the current administrations effort to use technology, data and innovation to enable service delivery. The government seeks investment in all these sectors and engagement will potentially ignite economic growth and development. ENTRY & ESTABLISHMENT. This indicator reports the number of individuals and firms listed in a credit registry with information on their borrowing history from the past 5 years. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Sierra Leone AFP. In this challenging context, the need to apply Ebola's lessons to recovery is clear. The Education Innovation Challenge (EIC) was launched in June 2019 in collaboration with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Educations Teaching Service Commission. Since the start of the Covid-19 response, quarantine has been one of the most effective measures to stop transmission of the virus. However, while the violence did negatively affect the economy and business environment in terms of the development of physical infrastructure, Sierra Leone's reputation as a war torn economy remains one of the greatest hurdles for business today. It includes economic, security and political risks, human rights issues, bribery and corruption, terrorism, intellectual property and organised crime. The current Syrian quagmire which has spilled over to Europe in the form of the refugee crisis gives(), Analysis The building quality control index is based on six other indicesthe quality of building regulations, quality control before construction, quality control during construction, quality control after construction, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certifications indices. They include: Long periods of poor and unaccountable governance; The number of days to obtain a permanent electricity connection. In Sierra Leone, the relationship between the public and private sectors has too often been undermined by mutual distrust and poor communication as government concentrates on public sector management and business focuses on corporate growth, profits, market share, etc. The extent of corporate transparency index measures the level of information that companies must share regarding their board members, senior executives, annual meetings and audits. Furthermore, Sierra Leone exports far fewer goods and services (26.1% of GDP) than other countries in the region, such as Guinea (37.1%), Ghana . Executing agencies are sometimes overwhelmed with requests for information; missions that arrive with little or no advance notice; extra reports and requests by visiting missions for weekend trips to see projects. Reports. This indicator reports the number of individuals and firms listed by a credit bureau with information on their borrowing history from the past 5 years. In 2018, Sierra Leone also joined the African Continental Free Trade Agreement which brings together fifty-four African countries with a combined population of more than one billion in a single continental market for goods and services. Excessive elite monopolization of wealth; Sierra Leone was then, and is today, a religiously plural, multi-ethnic society with 13 principal ethnic groups. The data from the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI)s Education Data Hub was used to select the participating schools, guided by criteria such as student enrolment levels and the physical location of schools. The index is the sum of four component indices: commencement of proceedings index, management of debtors assets index, reorganization proceedings index and creditor participation index. It has shaken the foundations of previously held . This index ranges from 0 to 10 and has five components. Thank you. Given the number of mistakes made by donors over the past 40 years, one would think there would be greater tolerance for different approaches if there is a local consensus of views that varies from a dominant and sometimes momentary intellectual consensus. The reasons given included poor internet connectivity, having limited time to learn to use the application, and not having enough mobile devices to go around. It is these factors, accumulated over the past 40 years, in addition to the physical destruction caused by war, that both external efforts and government have tried to address. The data is then fed directly into the governments public-health surveillance database, DHIS2, which enables central oversight of service provision for those in quarantine as well as decentralised management of that service provision. The public sector, in turn, has a direct interest in promoting the enterprises that create jobs, pay taxes and spur development. This topic records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as measures the administrative burden of paying taxes and contributions and complying with postfiling procedures. Off a path in Cockle Bay, a slum in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown, lies the squat, tin-roofed house where Lamrana Bah lives and works. I would like to consider these three questions in the order in which I have just presented them and then conclude by making some more general observations about the challenges faced by our government in its attempt to deliver the key ingredients of a stable society: genuine democratic governance, equitable and rapid economic growth leading to broad-based and sustainable development. You need at least a Starter Account to use this feature. Read more . Then you can access your favorite statistics via the star in the header. In my opinion, we have no other choice. 1401 Constitution Ave NW The World Bank highlighted challenges in access to credit, resolving insolvency, access to electricity and construction permits, but noted improvements in payment of taxes, cross-border trade and starting a business. . As a foreign investor, Mr. Elba should know that there are certain realities about doing business in Sierra . USA.gov|FOIA|Privacy Program|EEO Policy|Disclaimer|Information Quality Guidelines |Accessibility, Official Website of the International Trade Administration, Comply with U.S. and Foreign Export Regulations. increased control over diamond mining so that official exports increased from $10 million in 2000 to $127 million in 2004, representing 92% of total exports. How Sierra Leone Is Using Technology, Data and Innovation to Overcome Service-Delivery Challenges. There is also no clear agreement on which countries fit this category. Restless Development are delivering seven innovative programmes . Despite this, incomes of the richest countries, which were 16 times higher than the poorest countries in the 1960s, grew to be 35 times higher by 1999. A political culture focused on the capture of resources for particular individuals, rather than the generation of wealth for all; Tony Blair Institute, trading as Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (registered company number: 10505963) whose registered office is One Bartholomew Close, London, EC1A 7BL. This index measures rules and practices affecting the coverage, scope and accessibility of credit information available through either a credit registry or a credit bureau. The total tax rate measures the amount of taxes and mandatory contributions payable by the business in the second year of operation, expressed as a share of commercial profits. There are no panaceas that will end poverty or create justice or end war. Some service providers had to develop pre-recorded learning materials that were uploaded to memory cards and distributed in communities they worked in, alongside compatible rechargeable devices for playing the recorded messages. You have successfully subscribed. Support youth associations for entrepreneurship. Shown below are the procedures, time, and costs to build a warehouse, including obtaining necessary licenses and permits, completing required notifications and inspections, and obtaining utility connections. Over the years, Sierra Leone has made significant reforms in easing the process of setting up a business, including establishing a one-stop shop for company registration. Actively support the current initiative of government and the Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture to convene a National Summit on Democracy, Business and Development in September 2006 to be preceded by district and regional preparatory summits that will examine the full range of areas for potential public-private sector partnership development. To mitigate the shock and accelerate economic recovery, the government initiated and executed the Quick Action Economic Response Plan which aimed at saving lives and sustaining livelihoods. The quality of judicial processes index measures whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices in its court system in four areas: court structure and proceedings, case management, court automation and alternative dispute resolution. To become successful in this highly competitive & ever-growing industry, you must have passion, perseverance, and the ability to take risks. In 2022, the fashion industry was valued at $473.42B, with a growth rate of 8.3% over last year. This data is being analysed by the HCD Incubator and its data partners and will reveal the potential progress or decline experienced in the first year of implementation. The economy has potential in five main areas: agriculture, fisheries, mining, tourism, and small-scale manufacturing. If neither VAT nor corporate income tax applies, the postfiling index is not included in the ranking of the ease of paying taxes. 15516 views, By Titus Boye-Thompson, Freetown, Sierra Leone. The city's natural environment is unique. The best of the best: the portal for top lists & rankings: Strategy and business building for the data-driven economy: Industry-specific and extensively researched technical data (partially from exclusive partnerships). ", International Economics, Ease of doing business in Sierra Leone in 2020, by topic Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1244779/ease-of-doing-business-in-sierra-leone-by-topic/ (last visited March 05, 2023), Ease of doing business in Sierra Leone in 2020, by topic [Graph], International Economics, February 28, 2021. International Trade Administration 2012 - 2017. Note:If an economy does not levy any taxes, the set of indicators in Paying Taxes are recorded as no practice. Consider how corporate social responsibility policies and corporate giving programmes can be professionalized; linked to the PRSP and increase their impact by building synergies with public sector development initiatives. Corruption remains a serious impediment to investment. Doing business in Sierra Leone is difficult but overcoming the challenges is not impossible, says Nikolai Germann, managing director of Addax Bioenergy in Ernst & Young's 2011 Afri. The number of procedures to obtain a permanent electricity connection. As the governments partner, we used our experience in combatting Ebola to provide technical input regarding the specifications and functionality of the application. The Sierra Leone Economic Diversification Project will help strengthen the business enabling environment by promoting reforms to . Let me now comment briefly on our successes since the end of the war in 2002 and then turn to the impact of external efforts on these issues and realities. Timidity. Use Ask Statista Research Service, The ease of doing business (EODB) score captures the gap between an economys performance and is a measure of best practice across the entire sample of 41 indicators for 10 topics. We provided technical support to DSTI in formulating the HCD Incubator and designing the EIC. Official websites use .gov | Monitoring officers at district level were then trained in its use. This includes both the days when actions take place and the waiting periods in between.