By Ibrahim Barrie
The Director-General of the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency (SLCA) Fodeba Daboh has in a press briefing assured of the Agency’s commitment to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the Sierra Leone Insurance Company (SLICOM) in July 2020.
“We are here today to continue to reaffirm our mutual commitment to this MOU which speaks to mutual collaboration and partnership especially when it comes to the insurance industry. The MOU specifics are clear which is primarily to ensure straight compliance with the provisions of the Act and the statuary instrument lay under it,” he said.
He however noted that the SLICOM and SLLCA are both “regulatory arms of Government” and are not there to settle down for substandard services, but to ensure that Sierra Leonean businesses thrive and compete not only nationally but internationally.
Speaking on the mandate of the Agency, he added that they are not only in operation to seek the interest of the indigenous companies but also creating a friendly investment climate for foreign investment companies in the country that creates jobs that Sierra Leoneans are looking for. “If by any means a Sierra Leonean company is thinking that the Local content is here to drive multinational companies away, they must be making mistake because that is not what this agency is about,” he said, explaining how the Agency links indigenes to multinational companies that bring investment and how they will help them protect it.
He said the sector is a critical sector because when contracts are awarded to indigenous Sierra Leoneans that are capable enough to execute, it can definitely reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, and create wealth for Sierra Leoneans.
He described information which he said is in the public domain suggesting that the Agency has taken a side in an issue that has to do with KEK Insurance Broker and Star Alliance insurance broker as “misleading and deceptive information” “The publication does not represent the local content agency we did not take any specific position in this matter because it was under investigation,” he said.
In his statement at the meeting at SLCA’s Steward Street office on 31st January 2022, Sheku Mattia, Deputy Commissioner Sierra Leone Insurance Company said they are “highly concerned” about the issues between the two institutions saying that they both fall under their purview.
He said that the two institutions that are in the spotlight, KEK Insurance Broker and Star Alliance Insurance Broker were both given licenses to operate by SLICOM.
Imtiaz Karim, Director of Compliance SLICOM in his statement explained that the Marampa Mining Company advertised a contract which was eventually awarded to KEK insurance Brokers a local company with foreign interest which was also contested by Star Alliance Insurance Brokers an indigenous Company. This according to them is what brought the misunderstanding that made Star Alliance feel left out.
“Star Alliance is an insurance Broker that market business that provides services for clients and this situation, KEK was already involved and they have been providing services (for Marapa Mines),” he said
He added that there are requirements to winning a contract and that if one fails to complete those requirements, they do not advise any client to award a contract to anyone that cannot provide the service despite their qualifications. “We are there to monitor the situation, we as regulators do not advice or dictate to clients as to who they should award a contract to.”
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