By Sorie Ibrahim Fofanah
In a bid to address price control, the Deputy Secretary- General of the Sierra Leone Importers Association, Alhaji Sheriff Barrie has called on the Government to repeal the 1969 Exclusive Act that gives the right of sole importing of essential commodities to importers.
Barrie was speaking at the government weekly press briefing at the Foreign Affairs Ministry,Tower Hill in Freetown on 21st November 2023.
He said there are two areas that needed to be addressed with regards price control: the 1969 Non-Indigenous Act that says importers should sell in wholesale and vice vase, but that there is no dichotomy between the retailers and the wholesalers hence making price control cumbersome, he stated. "The importers are selling like the retailers," he added.
“The second area that makes price fixing difficult is the Exclusive Right that speaks to give an exclusive right to investors to be the sole importers of certain commodities” Barrie noted. "When a single investor is given the right to be the sole importer for the particular commodity, he determines the price of that particular commodity," he further stated, noting that it's not the government that determines the price.
He said that they have over the past years informed the respective Ministers of Trade about the said issue. He went on to call for the repealing of Exclusive Rights.
Everybody must have the right to import any commodity in this country, Barrie said, and called on the Ministry of Trade to look into the matter.
Speaking about the private sector, he said it is “very important that if Sierra Leone is to thrive, serious consideration must be given to the sector.
Barrie said they are the highest employers in Sierra Leone. "We do assist the National Investment Board," he added, saying no investor comes to invest in Sierra Leone without consulting the private sector.
In his response, the Chief Director and Professional Head, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Emmanuel Billy Konjoh said no law speaks about "Exclusivity", noting that the Trademark and Patent Act speaks about Agency Contract that allows agent importers to be the sole importers of some essential items. He went on to encourage all business people to do the same. "In the past five years of this government, we have increased our manufacturing contribution of Gross Domestic Products (GDP) from three to five percent," Konjoh said.
"Our desire at the Ministry of Trade and Industry is not to see our importers go and have agency contracts," Konjoh stated, adding they have opened the importing space to all. “The trade is not for one individual," he emphasized, noting that the legal environment doesn't allow having anything like "exclusivity."
The Chief Director said a lot of clauses in the 1969 Wholesale and Retail Act have been expunged. "The bottom line is as a government, cost of living is a challenge globally," Konjoh said. To address that issue, he said they now have the Essential and Commodities Act that gives the right to many Sierra Leonean and other business people to import goods and services.
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