The Chief Executive Officer of the UK based Integrated Resources Limited, Eudira Thompson, has concluded feasibility studies in Sierra Leone with an intent to identifying areas of investment in the country.
According to her, during the last visit of President Ernest Koroma to the UK many investors approached him on their intentions to invest in Sierra Leone if the atmosphere was conducive.
She said, “Sierra Leone has attracted the attention of investors over the years, but they are very much skeptical about the land tenure system and the general economic policy in Sierra Leone” , adding that many investors out there would want to invest in agriculture, tourism, lumbering and mining industry if the right atmosphere was set.
Eudira Thompson said after undertaking a series of surveys on the economic climate in Sierra Leone, she had fully registered her organization in Sierra Leone for future investment.
On that note the administrator general of Sierra Leone, Ms. Serray Kallay, said no investor would be granted permission to lease a land for more than 100 years under the Provincial Land Act.
She said after 100 years of initial lease of land to any investor, an investor would only be allowed to renew the lease for 50 years.
Ms. Kallay therefore advised every investor to finalise proper documentation of land and business entities before investment.
She concluded that, “land is such a sensitive issue that requires meticulous handling”, adding that when it came to the registration and rejection of land documents she had very little to do. The minister of Lands and Country Planning, Benjamin Davies, was reputed to have said that the land tenure system in the provinces was not an embargo to any development programme as chiefs were ready to lease land if given their due respect. He confirmed that government was ready to lease land to any credible investor.
By Solomon Rogers
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