WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(96)/ST/59
10December 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5220)
Original: English MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Singapore, 9-13December 1996
SIERRA LEONE
Statement bytheHonourable George Banda-Thomas
Minister forTrade, Industry andState Enterprises
Ibring yougreetings from HisExcellency Alhaji Dr.Ahmad Tejan Kabba, theGovernment
andpeople ofSierra Leone. Ialsotakethisopportunity toextend ourgratitude totheGovernment
andpeople ofSingapore forthehospitality extended tomeandmydelegation. Letmealsoexpress
myunreserved thanks tothose countries whohavecontributed towards thefunding ofSierra Leone 's
participation atthisauspicious gathering.
Aftertwodecadesofpoliticalmisrule,SierraLeonenowhasademocraticallyelectedgovernment
which hassucceeded inbringing anendtothefive-year rebelwarbytheconclusion ofapeace accord.
Letmeusethisforum tothank allthose whohavecontributed towards achieving ourobjective ofpeace
andsecurity. Weplantosetaside thisuglyepisode inourhistory, andmove forward inaspirit of
reconciliation onthenewpathofdemocracy, withemphasis onstability, transparency andgood
governance -principles which myGovernment holds dearandwhich havebeeninstitutionalized to
givethem purpose andmeaning.
Weacknowledge thattheconclusion oftheUruguay Round Agreements wasamajor stepby
theinternational community towards theexpansion ofarules-based international trading system, and
hasprescribed enhanced prospects fortradeliberalization, creating amore secure trading environment.
Inparticular, theimproved dispute settlement mechanism, which gives access toanAppellate Body,
provides theopportunity forequality before thelaw,andtherequisite technical support during the
process forpoorer countries.
Asacountry, wearestillgrappling withtheimpact oftheWTO rulesonourfragile economy
anddetermining howwecanutilize theopportunities offered soastotakeourplace inthenew
competitive environment.
Weareaware ofthemany constraints militating against ourefforts, suchasthelowproduction
base; thelackoftechnical capacity andeconomic infrastructure; theincidence ofpoverty; thelimitation
onourmarkets; thelackofdeveloped human resource base; theproblem ofproduct diversification;
theimpact ofstructural adjustment programmes; theproblem ofcommodity dependency andlackof
value added onourprincipal products; anddomestic andexternal instabilities, toname afew.
Against thisbackdrop, westillhave tocontend withsome negative implications oftrade
liberalization.
Firstly, asaleastdeveloped country, weareamongst those whoareleastintegrated intothe
trading system. Ourpresent preoccupation ishowtobecome fullyintegrated intotheframework of
theexisting issues, aprocess forwhich wearelooking forward tothesupport oftheinternational
community. Consequently, whilst weconsider thenewissues aspartofthefuture work programmeWT/MIN(96)/ST/59
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oftheWTO, atthesame time, consideration ofthese newissues should belimited tostudies or
preparatory work, bearing inmindtheneedforconsensus andthenational interest ofvarious Members.
Secondly, thecoming intoexistence ofthenewsystem prescribes thelossofpreferences we
currently enjoy, particularly withourmajor trading partners. Ofcourse, welookforward toarevised
relationship, bearing inmind thatourrelationship isbased onlongtradition which hasentailed mutual
benefits. Wealsolookforward toforging newrelationships withother partners inthetrading
community. Itshould beborne inmind thataswegothrough theprocess ofdemocratization and
development, werequire patience andunderstanding aswedonothavethetools totakeadvantage
ofthenewtrading opportunities.
Thirdly,overtheyears,policyfailuresinagriculturecombinedwithotherfactorshaveweakened
theproduction baseandourcapability forfoodself-sufficiency. Asanagricultural economy inwhich
70percentofthepopulation isengaged, wehavebeenseriously affected bytheimpact oftheAgreement
onAgriculture. Sierra Leone istoday anetfood-importing country, withaveryhighfoodimport
bill.Whilst wehaveembarked onreforms inagricultural policies incorporating foodsecurity measures
toalterthissituation, itwilltakesome timebefore these produce results. Inthisrespect, wewould
urgeourtrading partners tospeedily implement theMarrakesh Decision onMeasures concerning the
Possible Negative Effects oftheReform Programme onLeast Developed andNetFood-Importing
Developing Countries.
Fourthly, ourlegal framework needs tobereformed inorder toadapt totheregulations in
theWTO Agreements, sothatwecantakefulladvantage ofthebenefits conferred byworld trade
liberalization. Wenoteinthisregard, theburden ofnotification andreview requirements. Atthis
point, wewishtojoinothers inexpressing theneedforthesimplification oftheformula forcompliance,
inaccordance withtheMarrakesh Declaration.
Fifthly, theadvances which havebeenmade inregional integration havebeenconfined largely
totheeconomic front. Efforts arebeing made toobtain sovereign commitments, however, wecontinue
tolookforward tosupport toenable ustomove towards further integration, inourbidtodiversify
ourtradable commodities.
Six,weacknowledge andappreciate thespecial anddifferential treatment provided under the
rules; butasaleastdeveloped country, wehavenotbeenabletotakemaximum advantage ofthe
various provisions. Ourmere sizeisalimitation, coupled withthelackoftechnological capability
andskilled manpower, andpoverty -conditions thatconstrain ourability tocompete, butwhich we
arestriving toovercome.
Seventh, thestringent standards imposed, forexample, sanitary andphytosanitary requirements,
onourexports, particularly fishandfishproducts, militates against ourcapacity tofullyexploit our
comparative advantage.
Eight, theopening upofpreviously closed economies inEastern Europe, while presenting
newopportunities fortrade, hasstiffened market competition andwilllikely benefit onlythose which
already havetheinstitutional capacity toexploit them. Thisalsoerodes ourability tocompete.
Every conceivable effort isbeing made bytheGovernment ofSierra Leone toovercome some
ofthese inequities, byundertaking measures tofoster economic growth. TheGovernment ispresently
focusing onprivate sector development through consensus building, theprovision oftrade support
services andtechnical assistance, andinstitutional capacity-building. Among theseries offurther
measures undertaken aretradeliberalization, stepstoimprove productive methods andefficiency, and
theadoption ofstrategies geared towards making optimum useofthenatural resource baseforoverallWT/MIN(96)/ST/59
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sustainable development. Theprocess offullprivatization ison-going withincreasing rapidity.
Economic diversification, export development andpromotion; expansion oftheinfrastructure, are
allmeasures leading towards theestablishment ofabasefortake-off.
Thedevelopment ofhuman andinstitutional capacity forenhancing andpromoting investment
hasbeenembarked uponwiththeaimofincreasing theflowofinvestment finance andproviding training
inareas ofindustrial development andservices. Complementary measures suchastheconclusion of
anInvestment Code, theestablishment offreeports andexport processing zones arealsounder way.
Inparticular, thedevelopment oftheinfrastructure, suchastransport, communications andservices,
together withstepsforregional integration andcooperation isbeing undertaken. These measures should
facilitate development.
Atthesame time, weexpect thatconsiderable efforts willbemade tocomplement ouractions
bytheadherence tocommitments expressed atvarious foraparticularly those relating to:
(1) Thespeedy compliance withprovisions relating tothespecial anddifferential measures
applicable toleastdeveloped countries, including most-favoured-nation concessions
ontariffs andnon-tariff measures onexport products ofinterest tous.
(2) Therequest forflexible application oftheWTO Agreements aswellasthetransitional
provisions.
(3) Theprovision oftechnical assistance fordeveloping andstrengthening production and
export, including trade promotion andhuman resource development.
Permit metoendonanoteofconcern. Thisconcern relates toourdisappointment thatvery
littleattempt hasbeenmade since thecoming intoexistence oftheWTO toresolve issues ofparticular
interesttodevelopingcountries,particularlyhighlightedatMarrakesh,relatingtotherelationshipbetween
trade andimmigration, trade andregionalism, trade andcompany lawandtheestablishment ofa
mechanism intheWTO forcompensation fortheerosion ofpreferences, toname afew.
Mr.Chairman, Iwould liketotakethisopportunity tothank youonceagain, andtosaywe
expect afruitful outcome from these deliberations.