Country
Overview
Sierra Leone is a Democratic Republic located in
West Africa 8°north of the equator. It has an area of
approximately 29,000 sq/mi (the size of Scotland) and a
population of 6,000,000 people.
In 2002 following the revolutionary war, the country held
its first democratic elections supervised by the United
Nations (UN). The elected incumbent government has a mandate
through 2007 when the next elections are due to be held.
Following the war, UN forces from a variety of countries
re-established security and stability within the country
with the transitional hand over of internal security to
local military and police forces planned to be completed
prior to the next national elections in 2007.
Since the elections in 2002, Sierra Leone has seen a large
resurgence in economic development with European, Asian
and North American corporations establishing or re-establishing
their presence in the Industrial, Finance, Resource and
Technology sectors of business. From a resource point of
view, the country is rich in iron ore, gold, diamonds, bauxite,
titanium and chromite ore. Companies such as Godwana Exploration,
Sierra Rutile, Stanton Mining, Branch Energy, Rex Mining,
Mano River Resources, Pacific-Betts and African Diamonds
to name a few have spent millions dollars in exploration
and development in the resource sector. As well, Sierra
Leone has a rich forestry and fishing industry and recently
the government has issued off shore oil exploration licenses
to a number of corporations. Prior to the war Sierra Leone
had a vibrant tourist industry based on 400 km of shoreline
with pristine beaches, dive sites, off and onshore fishing
and animal reserves. The government is actively encouraging
the redevelopment of this sector of the economy.
Since the democratic election of the current government
in 2002, The World Bank and International Monetary Fund
have provided significant funding to rebuild the infrastructure
in areas of power and water, sanitation, roads, and housing
to name a few. As well many non-government organizations
(NGO's) from US Europe and around the world have been providing
a multitude of services including but not limited to medical
support, education, water and sewage improvement, housing
development and small business support among others. Recently
the EU Union has built a large complex in Freetown and the
US government is in the process of completing and relocating
It's new Embassy for West Africa in Freetown.
The governments current position is “We’re
open for Business” and it is encouraging foreign investment
in all sectors of the economy. (From a personal point of
view based on experience over the past 36 months, the people
are friendly, helpful and happy to see you and personal
safety is equal to or better than many European or North
American locales contrary to depictions on some web sites),
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