PRESIDENTIAL WORKSHOP ON MINERALS SECTOR REFORM

On 7 July, 2008 a landmark workshop was held at State House on minerals sector reform. Organised by the Strategy and Policy Unit of the Office of the President and the Ministry of Mineral Resources, and attended by the President, ministers, mining companies, local community, civil society and donors, the workshop represented the most intensive and far reaching effort to date to discuss issues facing the sector and chart a course for the sector’s reform.

This Government has taken a keen interest in the development of the mineral sector recently, which it has targeted as a key engine of growth and major contributor to achieving the country’s development goals. However, as highlighted by H.E. the President Ernest Bai Koroma in his opening Workshop remarks, “in order to realise the sector’s potential and for the Government and people of Sierra Leone to derive greater benefits from its mineral wealth, more needs to be done to address the constraints affecting the sector’s growth and management”. These constraints include:

• Legislation that is out of date and poorly structured

• Lack of geological information to attract investment

• Inadequate infrastructure

• Inadequate assessment and collection of revenues

• Inadequate management of environmental matters

• Poor community governance structures

• Lack of capacity in institutions managing the sector

• Ineffective monitoring mechanisms

• Inconsistent and non-transparent licensing and transfer of licensing.

Priority areas of reform included:

• Review of mineral rights and appropriate actions taken;

• Restructuring and building the capacity of the Ministry of Mineral Resources

• Developing appropriate legislation and regulations

• Assisting communities to improve their governance structures

• Assessing and collecting revenues from taxes and fees to maximize financial returns

• Processing more effective allocation of minerals sector revenue to mining communities

• Developing an infrastructure policy.

Learn more about the Presidential Workshop and its outcomes and next steps:

Concept Paper for the Workshop [PDF, 168KB]
Outcomes and next steps [PDF, 114KB]
Keynote Address Speech by H. E. The President [PDF, 76.8KB]
Presentations [PDF, 1.23MB]
Minutes of Workshop [PDF, 246KB]
List of Participants [PDF, 20.6KB]