By Mohamed Fofanah.
President Dr. Julius Maada Bio yesterday officially launched the first-ever nationwide Airborne Geo-Data and exhibition to primarily acquire adequate geological data that is required for profitable minerals and the optimization of benefit from mineral deposits in Sierra Leone, according to Tim Archer, Director of Reid Geophysics Limited in the UK.
In 2019, the Government of Sierra Leone launched three key policies: the Minerals Policy; Artisanal Mining Policy; and Geo-Data Management Policy to promote and protect investments; ensure that Sierra Leone derives maximum benefits from its mineral wealth; promote value addition and economic linkages; increase geological knowledge; improve environmental and social management; and formalize artisanal mining sector, NMA data showed on Monday.
Speaking at the Bintumani Conference Center in Freetown yesterday, the Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources said he was honoured to be the minister under whose leadership the mineral sector that in Sierra Leone has taken huge steps to acquiring geological data that is critical for the optimization of benefits from the sector.
With this launch, Musa Timothy Kabba said Sierra Leone has once again demonstrated, under the leadership of President Bio that it is a competitive destination for investments in the mineral sector in Africa, adding that the country needs reliable data to make prudent investment decisions in the extractive industry.
Minister Kabba said that Geo-Data serves a useful function in guiding government decision, which is relevant to the exploration of mineral wealth, and also critical in shaping Government’s strategy in awarding mineral rights to investors through a competitive bidding system.
He added that the current reliance on exploration companies to provide geological information will not help the country in the long-term.
Minister Kabba announced that the reviewed 2009 Mines and Minerals Act compressively captures progressive provisions that will accelerate development at all levels in the country. Among other things, the new law increases the threshold for revenue transfer to mineral rich-communities to finance service delivery infrastructure, and improves on transparency and accountability, including strong beneficial ownership provisions in costs, he said.
During his keynote address, President Bio noted that Sierra Leone must govern its non-renewable resources well so that it will benefit her, investors, and mining communities and their environments, and assured potential investors that ‘we are here for you’ for the sustainability of the sector.
“Let us use the non-renewable resources; therefore, as we may not have done in the last 90 years,” said President Bio, adding that “Let us use them to facilitate inclusive and sustainable national development.”
The Director-General of the National Minerals Agency (NMA), Dr. Julius Mattai said that the release of the Geo-Data, and the deliverables which are embedded in NMA’s strategic plan for 2020 to 2025, is critical to the Government’s agenda in attracting investment for a sector that is struggling to make meaningful impacts on the country’s overall economy.
Dr. Mattai said that Sierra Leone has serious investments potential in the mining sector, and that Government’s effort is tailored towards reclaiming the country’s economy through the critical attraction of investments as it critically needs foreign exchange and transfer of knowledge and technology in the sector.
House Oversight Committee Chairman on Mines and Mineral Resources, Hon. Saa Emerson Lamina said that the mining sector is very significant to the economy of Sierra Leone, contributing about 24% of the nation’s GDP and over 80% to export earnings. However, he continued that it contributes well below its potential on average of 15% of total revenue.
He said good governance of the mining sector is critical for Sierra Leone to attract the right kind of investment that would fully maximize the potential benefits of its endowments.
It is expected that the outcome of the launch will open the country to foreign capital inflow, thereby terminating the existence of unemployment which has plagued, Hon. Lamina said.
He said: “In Sierra Leone today, the New Direction Medium Term Development Plan seeks the interest of the State, the land owners as well as the investors; all for a win-win strategy to harness a resilient economy in concurrence with Section 7 Act No. 6 of Sierra Leone’s 1991 Constitution.”
