By Adam, Akash, Jin and
SIERRA LEONE
WHAT IS IT?
Sierra Leone is a small African country in the west of the
continent. It relies heavily on its export of minerals and
gems to generate its national income. It has quite a
backward economy; in 2008 it's GDP in PPP ranked
between 147th (World Bank) and 153th (CIA) largest in the
world. In 2002 and it came out of a civil war and has ever
since had an unstable government plagued by corruption..
The country’s GDP peaked in the 70’s at 107% but has
fallen up until they came out of their civil war and is now
steadily recovering its GDP
SIERRA LEONE’S ECONOMY
Sierra Leone’s economy is mainly based in the primary sector.
About two-thirds of the population engages in subsistence
agriculture, which accounts for 52.5% of national income. The
government is trying to increase food and cash crop
production and upgrade small farmer skills. The government
works with several foreign donors to operate integrated rural
development and agricultural projects.
Whilst other than agriculture, the country’s population also
engages in mining as Sierra Leone has one of the world's
largest deposits of rutile, a titanium ore used as paint pigment
and welding rod coatings.
Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income
distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery
resources, its physical and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious
social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of the
working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists
mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the
domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard
currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of
the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued
receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade
imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a
Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic
growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a
revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining.
By the 1990s economic activity was declining and economic infrastructure had become
seriously degraded. Over the next decade much of the formal economy was destroyed in the
country’s civil war. Since the end of hostilities in January 2002, massive infusions of
outside assistance have helped Sierra Leone begin to recover. Much of the recovery will
depend on the success of the government's efforts to limit corruption by officials, which
many feel was the chief cause for the civil war. A key indicator of success will be the
effectiveness of government management of its diamond sector.
Sierra Leone is slowly emerging from a protracted civil war and is showing signs of a
successful transition. Investor and consumer confidence continue to rise, adding impetus to
the country’s economic recovery. There is greater freedom of movement and the successful
re-habitation and resettlement of residential areas.
Rich in minerals, Sierra Leone has relied on mining, especially diamonds, for its economic
base. The country is among the top 10 diamond producing nations in the
world. Mineral exports remain the main foreign currency earner. Sierra Leone is a major
producer of gem-quality diamonds. Though rich in diamonds, it has historically struggled to
manage their exploitation and export.
Sierra Leone is perhaps best known for its blood diamonds that were
mined and sold to De Beers and other diamond conglomerates during
the civil war, and whose monies were used to buy the weapons that fueled
the atrocities of the civil war. In the 1970s and early 1980s, economic
growth rate slowed because of a decline in the mining sector and
increasing corruption among government officials.
Annual production of Sierra Leone's diamond estimates range between
$250–300 million U.S dollar. Formal exports have dramatically improved
since the civil war with efforts to improve the management of them having
some success. In October 2000, a UN-approved certification system for
exporting diamonds from the country was put in place and led to a
dramatic increase in legal exports.
SIERRA LEONE’S POLITICS
Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from
1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the
displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the
population). The military, which took over full responsibility for
security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of
2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's
stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the
2007 presidential election, but still look to the UN Integrated
Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - a civilian UN mission - to
support efforts to consolidate peace. The new government's
priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and
stamping out endemic corruption.
However like most third world and African countries the
government is quite corrupt, probably being the richest local
beings in the country scraping whatever living they can in
this backwards country. Politics of Sierra Leone takes place
in a framework of a presidential representative
democratic republic, whereby the President of Sierra Leone
is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-
party system. Executive power is exercised by the
government. Legislative power is vested in both
the government and the House of Representatives.
