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OPEN LETTER TO THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Honourable Minister,
I write with profound concern regarding your reported support for concessions being sought by Aminata at a time when Sierra Leonean businesses are facing some of the most difficult economic conditions in recent history.
The global economy is under pressure. Businesses are struggling with rising costs, limited access to finance, foreign exchange challenges, and declining margins. Yet despite these difficulties, Sierra Leonean-owned companies continue to invest, employ thousands of citizens, pay taxes, and support the national economy.
It is therefore difficult to understand why the Minister responsible for promoting trade, industry, and local content would advocate for special concessions for a foreign-owned company while indigenous businesses continue to operate without similar support.
What makes this proposal even more troubling is that Aminata did not receive such concessions in its home market, nor did NP receive similar treatment when it expanded into Liberia. In fact, NP faced numerous obstacles and competitive resistance while attempting to establish itself abroad, including from Aminata itself. NP was expected to compete fairly, invest its own resources, create jobs, and earn its place in the market without special government assistance.
Why should Sierra Leonean businesses be held to one standard abroad while foreign competitors are granted another standard in Sierra Leone?
Every Leone of tax revenue waived is a Leone that belongs to the people of Sierra Leone. It is revenue that could otherwise be used to fund schools, hospitals, roads, electricity, water systems, and other essential public services.
If Government is prepared to forgo revenue through concessions, should those concessions not first be directed toward strengthening Sierra Leonean-owned businesses that create local jobs, pay taxes locally, and reinvest their profits within our economy?
Instead, you are advocating for public revenue to be sacrificed in support of a foreign-owned company whose profits will ultimately leave our shores. At a time when local businesses are struggling and Government faces significant fiscal challenges, this proposal is difficult to justify.
Even more concerning is the fact that many Sierra Leonean companies are still owed substantial sums by Government while continuing to meet their tax obligations and support the economy. Rather than advocating for new concessions that reduce state revenue, why not focus on ensuring that existing obligations to local companies are honored? Why not support the very businesses that have remained committed to Sierra Leone through both good times and difficult times?
His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio has repeatedly spoken about supporting local content, indigenous participation, and Sierra Leonean enterprise. Those principles must be reflected not only in speeches but also in policy recommendations and actions.
Many stakeholders will recall previous decisions that were challenged and questioned by industry participants. Warnings were given. Concerns were raised. Unfortunately, corrective action was not taken until significant damage had already occurred. Those errors resulted in unnecessary losses for businesses, reduced revenues for Government, and avoidable hardship for the people of Sierra Leone.
Today, there is growing concern that this proposal represents another such error in judgment.
The people of Sierra Leone cannot continue to bear the cost of policies that weaken local enterprise, reduce public revenues, and transfer economic benefits outside the country.
Many Sierra Leoneans are also asking a simple question: whose interests are being served by these proposed concessions? The perception that certain individuals or interests may benefit while local businesses and the wider public bear the cost is damaging to public confidence and trust.
For this reason, transparency is essential. Decisions involving public revenue and national economic policy must be made in the open and must withstand public scrutiny. The people of Sierra Leone deserve to know why concessions are being advocated for a foreign-owned company while local businesses continue to face significant challenges without comparable support.
We sincerely hope that you will reconsider your position and do what is fair and just. We hope that you will place the interests of Sierra Leone and its people above all else.
Many stakeholders already know far more about this matter than has been publicly discussed. It is therefore in everyone’s interest that the right decision is made now, before further questions are asked and before deeper scrutiny becomes necessary.
As Minister of Trade and Industry, your responsibility is to promote fair competition, support indigenous businesses, and protect the economic interests of Sierra Leoneans. The business community is not asking for favors. It is asking for fairness.
Local content cannot simply be a slogan repeated at conferences and public events. It must be reflected in decisions that protect local investment, preserve jobs, retain wealth within Sierra Leone, and ensure that Sierra Leonean businesses are not placed at a disadvantage in their own country.
No more double standards.
No more policies that reward foreign competitors while local businesses carry the burden.
No more avoidable mistakes that cost the people of Sierra Leone.
It is time for fairness. It is time for accountability. And it is time for policies that place the interests of Sierra Leone and Sierra Leoneans first.
Respectfully,
A Concerned Sierra Leonean Stakeholder
