By Karamoh Kabba.
The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Hon. Mabinty Daramy, on Wednesday, December 19, 2007, met with an investment group called Sierra Ventures led by Sierra Leonean Bank of America Business Development Manager, Daniel Koroma to discuss a proposal its members call “Stimulating Private Enterprises to Create Sustainable Jobs.”
Ms. Daramy, a long time Maryland resident, was in Maryland for her final shipping out to Sierra Leone to continue the new job she started about a month ago in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
The group’s representative, who stated that he has a good record of accomplishment and long-standing experience in investment banking, gave highlights of their proposal as follows:
“The investment-banking operation will help both private and public organizations to package investment projects to international standards in order to attract investors, to raise capital through private and public placement of shares locally and internationally and to develop good micro practices in order to operate as profitable modern corporations.”
He further elaborated: “Investment banking corporations are different from commercial banks. While commercial banks accept deposits from the public and issue loans to the public, investment banking focuses on packaging and promotion of investment projects in order to raise capital for the growth of the projects. In the process, investment banks also infuse modern business best practices that ensure long-term sustainable profitable operations that create stable jobs. The investment bank will help local business access international African equity funds with over $1 billion under management investors.”
Addressing the group, Ms. Daramy(photo) told the prospective investors that their proposal is in harmony with the Ministry’s newfound determination to support and encourage foreign and local investors with the hope that they will in turn create sustainable jobs. “Government does not have the capacity to employ as many people as a functional private sector would if government encourage and support foreign and local investments,” she told the group.
She also explained that she was in Maryland not on official business, “but with the ‘new dawn that has come to Sierra Leone,’ there is the readiness on our part to look into business opportunities to stimulate a robust private sector economy.”
She further explained that Sierra Leone is pregnant with youths that are eager for employment, assuring the group that there will be no shortage of labor in Sierra Leone, “but for now, I can only take your proposal back to Freetown and further discuss it with the Ministry and the President.”
At the end of the meeting, this correspondent found an opportunity to ask Ms. Daramy about the recent rice price hike in Sierra Leone and she gave the following reply:
“So far, my meeting with the rice importers was fruitful. We are not stopping at that either. We are even thinking of setting up a buffer rice reserve like the strategic petroleum reserve. I am, however, yet to discuss it with the Minister, and we will factor in the discussion the possible effect it could have on our local importers. Our government is committed to business friendliness, but we also understand that the availability of certain commodities must not be left in the hands of business people alone. We have brought light, we are going to find ways to make sure we have rice and petrol at affordable prices and then, I am sure everything else will fall in place.”
“We are in control,” she added.
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