HomeAbout Sierra Leone

GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE

His Excellency President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, Leader of the All People’s Congress (APC) and Head of State, is considered by his numerous followers all around Sierra Leone and in the Diaspora as The Hope of the Future.

Born October 2nd 1953 of APC pedigree in Makeni, Bombali District, Northern Sierra Leone, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma is the eldest son of seven children. He attended the Sierra Leone Church Primary School, Government Secondary School (Boys) Magburaka and Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. He graduated in 1976 from...

The Government

Dear Investor

For those of you who do not know much about Sierra Leone, I can confidently say that you are in for a pleasant surprise. We have a wonderful heritage and history of achieving many first in Africa – from being pioneers in printing newspapers and delivering radio to establishing Fourah Bay College, the first university in Sub-Saharan Africa. More recently, we have demonstrated our desire and ability to freely choose our government. Recognising that ill-informed perceptions of our country persist, we are determined to be more active in articulating the good things that we have and to provide the world with positive insights into our country, its people and institutions, and the opportunities that Sierra Leone has to offer. This guide is a strong step forward in that...

Welcome Remarks by the President

HUMAN RESOURCES

Sierra Leone has abundant semiskilled and unskilled labour. Though the civil war shrank the workforce, including the number of mangers and skilled workers, many such workers are returning to the country. Wages in Sierra Leone are lower than in most other West African countries across all labour categories.

WORK WEEK AND PAY

The work week in Sierra Leone is 40 hours, with two mandatory consecutive days off. Work beyond 40 hours is paid at 50 percent overtime and work required on rest days is paid at 100 percent overtime.

WORKER DISMISSAL

Companies can find employees redundant for commercial or financial reasons after trying and failing to find them alternative employment, in consultation with unions. Employers must discharge workers...

Employment

COMMERCIAL BANKS

Sierra Leone is home to 13 Banks including 10 Foreign Banks along with 2 state-owned banks and 1 domestic private bank. These banks are well capitalised and looking for innovative ways to serve the market with new products and services.

The two state-owned commercial banks – Rokel Commercial Bank (51 percent State-owned) and Sierra Leone Commercial Bank and the National Insurance Company and National Development Bank are slated for privatization. Standard Charted Bank is the third largest bank after the Rokel Commercial Bank and Sierra Leone Commercial Bank. Other financial services include insurance companies, brokerages, two government-run development banks (National Development Bank and National Development Cooperatives Bank), the virtually illiquid...

Banking & Business Services

The Republic of Sierra Leone is located on the West Coast of Africa, between latitudes 7 and 10 north and longitudes 10.5 and 13 west. The Republic of Guinea is to the north and northeast; Liberia is to the east and southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean on the west and south. It has 300 miles of coastline.

From an approximate 70-mile coastal belt of low-lying land, the country rises to a mountain plateau near the eastern frontier rising 4000 to 6000 feet with a rich timber forest region. The Western Area encompasses the Sierra Leone Peninsula, on which the capital and main commercial centre of Freetown stands; is 24 miles long and 10 miles wide.

A mountainous promontory, it rises in places to 300 feet above sea level - one of the few parts of the West African Coast where...

Geography and Geology

AN OVERVIEW OF THE SIERRA LEONE MINERALS SECTOR

Facts in Brief

· Sierra Leone’s primary mineral resources are diamonds, rutile, bauxite, gold and iron ore. The mineral sector in Sierra Leone is made up of three sub-sectors: a) large-scale production of non-precious minerals – rutile and bauxite; b) large scale production of precious minerals – diamonds; and c) artisanal and small-scale production of precious minerals – mainly diamonds, and to a much lesser extent, gold.

· The mining sector contributed around 20% of GDP and fiscal revenues equal to 8% of GDP until the closure of the bauxite and rutile operations in 1995. It continues to supply 90% of exports due to the thriving artisanal diamond component. Mining and quarrying employ about 14 percent of the total...

Mineral Sector Overview

AN OVERVIEW OF KEY MINERALS

Sierra Leone’s primary mineral resources are diamonds, rutile, bauxite, gold and small amounts of iron ore and limonite.

Diamonds


The Sierra Leone diamond fields cover an area of about 7,700 square miles (about one quarter of the country) in the south-eastern and eastern parts of Sierra Leone. The diamond producing areas are concentrated in Kono, Kenema and Bo Districts and are mainly situated in the drainage areas of the Sewa, Bafi, Woa, Mano and Moa Rivers. Alluvial diamond concentrations occur in river channel gravels, flood-plain gravels, terrace gravels, gravel residues in soils and swamps. Sierra Leone is known for producing mostly...

key players

MINING CADASTRE SYSTEM

A Mining Cadastre is the cornerstone of a secure mineral rights system and records the geographical location, ownership and time validity of mining rights, and for compliance with the payment of fees and/or other requirements to keep a concession valid. Security of tenure is very important both to large and small scale mining operations both to ensure a return on investment over the life of a mine and to avoid legal disputes over ownership.

Successful implementation of a modern mining cadastre requires the development of a database of mining licenses with their status, location, ownership, fees and dues paid, and other relevant information. Modern tools, such as specifically adapted Geographical Information Systems (GIS), are used to provide a...

Cadastre System

SECTOR TRANSPARENCY

Stemming the flow of Conflict Diamonds - The Kimberley Process

The Kimberley Process (KP) is a joint governments, industry and civil society initiative to stem the flow of conflict diamonds – rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments. The trade in these illicit stones has fuelled decades of devastating conflicts in countries such as Angola, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone.

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) imposes extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as ‘conflict-free’. As of September 2007, the KP has 48 members, representing 74 countries, with the European Community and its Member States...

Transparency

Sierra Leone with its unique landscape, scenery and cultural heritage is waiting to be explored. It has a coastal line of nearly 360 kilometres fringed with beautiful and un- spoilt white sandy beaches along the Atlantic Ocean. The country offers visitors its historic heritage, exotic flora and fauna, Mountains and natural beauty. A place where the lush green forest spills down hillsides to meet the sandy beaches along the Atlantic Ocean. The tropical rain forest is home to some of the rare and endangered species of monkeys, baboons, birds, butterflies and a wide variety of Antelope and Buffalo families.

Behind its natural beauty, Sierra Leone can boasts of numerous waterfalls, mysterious lakes and splendid hills, historical islands, some wearing the hallmark of slave trade. The...

Sierra Leone National Tourist Board
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