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The Director General of the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency, Fodeba Daboh, yesterday threatened to invoke Sections 61, 69, 70, 71 and 72 of the Local Content Act that speak of offences and penalties against sixteen multi-national companies.
The companies include Leocem, Easy Solar, Hema Trading Company, Super Holdings Ltd, Orange Sierra Leone Ltd, Rainbow Paint and Chemicals, Capital Foods, Mantrac Sierra Leone Ltd, Sierra Diamond, CSE, CRSG, OBT Shipping, Maesrk Line Sierra Leone Ltd, Bintumani Hotel, Atlantic Hotel and Sunbird. They are accused of undermining the Local Content Act.
The ceremony was held at the agency’s conference room in Freetown. According to Director Daboh, these companies are in flagrant violation of the Local Content Act by failing to provide their Local Content plan, adding that the agency has decided to draw the attention of those companies that are in breach of the laws governing the Agency.
He went on to say that Sierra Leoneโs Local Content Agency Act of 3rd March 2016 established the statutory requirement that operators submit a Sierra Leonean Content Plan to the Local Content Agency for approval, which describes how the company intends to satisfy the requirements of the Act and the performance targets that the operators will monitor and report against over time.
He said the Sierra Leonean Content Plan is the current and forecast of employment, procurement and capacity development opportunities for local workforce and Sierra Leonean businesses.
He revealed that it has identified specific actions and strategies that an operating company will use to implement and to support local content requirement mandate and that all operators should submit their LC plan before operations.
He stated that as Regulators, they have had several engagements with multi-national companies in terms of availing the Agency with their Local Content Plan which they have refused to do, noting that, even though they are aware of the need for creating a friendly investment climate, yet still they also have the responsibility of ensuring that they adhere to the Agencyโs Act.
He continued that two hundred other companies have submitted their own plan, adding that the defaulting sixteen companies will face penalties by paying huge fines or shutting down of operations and even face jail term.
He concluded that the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency has implemented Local Content Audit on companies for obvious reasons.
