KEYNOTE ADDRESS DELIVERED BY
HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT
OF SIERRA LEONE,
ALHAJI DR AHMAD TEJAN KABBAH
TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT
CONSULTATIVE FORUM ON ACCESSING
FINANCE FOR BUSINESS IN SIERRA LEONE
HELD IN FREETOWN AT THE
MIATTA CONFERENCE CENTRE
ON MONDAY, 25TH OCTOBER 2004

Mr Chairman,
Honourable Ministers,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Your Excellencies Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Distinguished Private Sector,
Representatives,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am happy that the Ministry of Trade and Industry together with our donor partners have organized this Forum for the next couple of days to exchange ideas on how finance, a major constraint for business promotion and indeed economic growth, can be made more accessible. The inability of our businesses to access finance either because of availability or cost has been a matter of great concern to me. Consequently I have requested the commercial banks during the last two occasions when they presented dividends to government, and during the last annual dinner of the Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce that they design imaginative lending policies and instruments to make finance less costly and more accessible to a wider business community.

I dare say this Forum's timing cannot be more propitious. We have achieved considerable progress in economic, political and social recovery since the end of the civil war and we are now embarked on economic policies that aim at sustainable economic growth and development. The private sector plays a key role in this strategy. We need to tap its energy by removing both fiscal and financial constraints that could impede its development. We have put in place fiscal policies to promote foreign direct investment, the investment code, and it is for this Forum to come up with policy recommendations aimed at removing the present financial constraints on capital formation in the private sector, especially for Sierra Leonean entrepreneurs.

My Government is determined to provide a policy environment that will facilitate private sector development. However, our capacity to do this effectively is constrained severely by both financial and human resource gaps. As I have indicated already, the banking and financial sector has an important role to play in this regard. Through my constant nudging, the banks have now embarked on wide ranging geographical and products diversification. Also, new entrants in the commercial banking sector are being encouraged as demonstrated by the recent establishment of the International Commercial Bank (Sierra Leone) Limited from Malaysia. The Central Bank has also embarked on the establishment of community banks countrywide, to bring financial intermediation to the doorsteps of our disadvantaged population in the rural communities.

It is expected that these initiatives, coupled with more innovative policies and strategies to engage the private sector will provide the fuel for the private sector to play its role as engine of growth of the economy.

Indeed the primary responsibility for achieving growth and equitable income distribution lies with the Government and this responsibility includes creating the enabling environment that make it possible to secure the needed financial resources for investment.

However, as President, I am concerned that access to medium and long-term capital at affordable cost is difficult and in most cases non-existent, particularly, for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMES). As you all know, growth and the creation of employment would come largely from a vibrant, well-resourced and competitive small and medium level enterprises.

Previous attempts to establish organisations to provide risk capital have been unsuccessful. The creation of a capital market, now being pursued by the Bank of Sierra Leone will go a long way to bridge this gap. I am aware that in a number of countries within Africa, Governments, donor agencies and the private sector have come together and established Enterprise Development Funds.

It is my earnest appeal to all the financial institutions present here to promote the establishment of private sector development financing schemes that can provide the financial resources required for our local entrepreneurs to access and develop their businesses further. If the issue is policy related please bring it to our attention so that as Government we can deal with it speedily and effectively.

To the representatives of International Financial Institutions here present, I wish to welcome you to Freetown and to invite the participation of your institution in the Private Sector Development efforts of my Government.

I can assure you that our Government is committed to achieving a prosperous private sector driven-economy and I implore you to please HELP Sierra Leone DO BUSINESS BY FINANCING THE ENTREPRENEURS. I wish our foreign visitors a good stay in our country.

It is now my pleasure to declare this Consultative Forum open.
I thank you.