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Economy Pro le of Sierra Leone

Doing Business 2018 Indicators(in order of appearance in the document)

Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company

Dealing with constructionpermits

Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality control andsafety mechanisms in the construction permitting system

Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, the reliability of the electricity supply andthe transparency of tariffs

Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration system

Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems

Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance

Paying taxes Payments, time and total tax rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as post-filing processes

Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts

Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes

Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal frameworkfor insolvency

Labor market regulation Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality

About Doing BusinessThe Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies andselected cities at the subnational and regional level.

The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulationsapplying to them through their life cycle.

Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local rms. It providesquantitative indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registeringproperty, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolvinginsolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankingsof economies on the labor market regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier score or ranking onthe ease of doing business, it does present the data for these indicators.

By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies andover time, Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more e cient regulation; o ers measurable benchmarks forreform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the businessclimate of each economy.

In addition, Doing Business o ers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in di erentcities and regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommendreforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with othercities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked.

The rst Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This years report covers 11indicator sets and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, exceptfor 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business, also collected data for the secondlargest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. Theproject has bene ted from feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to providean objective basis for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business around the world.

The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the frontier, which represents the bestperformance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economysdistance to frontier is re ected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 represents thefrontier. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190. The ranking of 190 economies is determined by sorting theaggregate distance to frontier scores, rounded to two decimals.

More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB)

Ease of Doing Business inSierra Leone

Region Sub-Saharan Africa

Income Category Low income

Population 7,396,190

GNI Per Capita (US$) 490

City Covered Freetown

DB2018Rank190 1

160

DB2018DistancetoFrontier(DTF)0 100

48.18

0 100

65.15:Kenya(Rank:80)

57.24:Ghana(Rank:120)

50.43:RegionalAverage(SubSaharanAfrica)

49.80:Guinea(Rank:153)

48.18:SierraLeone(Rank:160)

41.45:GuineaBissau(Rank:176)

DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)

Note: The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the frontier, which represents the best performance observed on each ofthe indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economys distance to frontier is re ected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0represents the lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190.

Rankings on Doing Business topics - Sierra Leone

Startinga

Business

Dealingwith

ConstructionPermits

GettingElectricity

RegisteringProperty

GettingCredit

ProtectingMinorityInvestors

PayingTaxes

TradingacrossBorders

EnforcingContracts

ResolvingInsolvency

1

28

55

82

109

136

163

190

Rank

83

182 178165 159

81 85

162

100

159

Distance to Frontier (DTF) on Doing Business topics - Sierra Leone

Startinga

BusinessChange:+0.47

Dealingwith

ConstructionPermits

Change:-2.62

GettingElectricity

Change:-3.52

RegisteringProperty

Change:-0.20

GettingCredit

Change:0.00


Change:0.00

PayingTaxes

Change:0.00


Change:+5.18

EnforcingContractsChange:0.00

ResolvingInsolvencyChange:+0.08

0

20

40

60

80

100

DTF

86.95

38.4330.65

43.27

25.00

55.00

72.86

48.9955.92

24.72

Starting a BusinessThis topic measures the paid-in minimum capital requirement, number of procedures, time and cost for a small- to medium-sizedlimited liability company to start up and formally operate in economys largest business city.

To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domesticallyowned, has start-up capital equivalent to 10 times income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities andemploys between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Startinga Business considers two types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is ownedby 5 married women and the other by 5 married men. The distance to frontier score for each indicator is the average of the scoresobtained for each of the component indicators.

The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information.

What the indicators measure

Procedures to legal ly start and operate acompany (number)

Pre-registration (for example, name verificationor reservation, notarization)

Registration in economys largest business city

Post-registration (for example, social securityregistration, company seal)

Obtaining approval from spouse to start businessor leave home to register company

Obtaining any gender-specific permission thatcan impact company registration, companyoperations and process of getting nationalidentity card

Time required to complete each procedure(calendar days)

Does not include time spent gatheringinformation

Each procedure starts on a separate day (2procedures cannot start on the same day)

Procedures fully completed online are recordedas day

Procedure is considered completed once finaldocument is received

No prior contact with officials

Cost required to complete each procedure (% ofincome per capita)

Official costs only, no bribes

No professional fees unless services required bylaw or commonly used in practice

Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita)

Funds deposited in a bank or with third partybefore registration or up to 3 months afterincorporation

Case study assumptions

To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptionsabout the business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that anyrequired information is readily available and that the entrepreneur will payno bribes.

The business:- Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more thanone type of limited liability company in the economy, the most commonamong domestic rms is chosen. Information on the most common form isobtained from incorporation lawyers or the statistical o ce. - Operates in the economys largest business city and the entire o cespace is approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). For 11economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.- Is 100% domestically owned and has ve owners, none of whom is a legalentity; and has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has aturnover of at least 100 times income per capita. - Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as theproduction or sale of goods or services to the public. The business doesnot perform foreign trade activities and does not handle products subjectto a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. It does not useheavily polluting production processes. - Leases the commercial plant or o ces and is not a proprietor of realestate and the amount of the annual lease for the o ce space is equivalentto 1 times income per capita.- Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special bene ts. - Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month af ter thecommencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. - Has a company deed 10 pages long.

The owners: - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority,they are assumed to be 30 years old. - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record. - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with theauthorities. - Where the answer di ers according to the legal system applicable to thewoman or man in question (as may be the case in economies where thereis legal plurality), the answer used will be the one that applies to themajority of the population.

Standardized Company

Legal form Limited Liability Company

Paid-in minimum capital requirement SLL 0


Indicator Sierra LeoneSub-SaharanAfrica

OECD highincome Overall Best Performer

Procedure Men (number) 5 7.6 4.9 1.00 (New Zealand)

Time Men (days) 11 24.0 8.5 0.50 (New Zealand)

Cost Men (% of income per capita) 36.2 49.9 3.1 0.00 (United Kingdom)

Procedure Women (number) 5 7.7 4.9 1.00 (New Zealand)

Time Women (days) 11 24.1 8.5 0.50 (New Zealand)

Cost Women (% of income per capita) 36.2 49.9 3.1 0.00 (United Kingdom)

Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0.0 25.6 8.7 0.00 (113 Economies)

FigureStartingaBusinessinSierraLeoneandcomparatoreconomiesRankingandDTF


0 100

86.95: Sierra Leone (Rank: 83)

84.02: Ghana (Rank: 110)

83.20: Kenya (Rank: 117)

81.77: Guinea (Rank: 125)

76.82: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa)

63.76: Guinea-Bissau (Rank: 178)

Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores forstarting a business. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators.

FigureStartingaBusinessinSierraLeoneProcedure,TimeandCost

Procedures (number)

1 2 3 4 50

2

4

6

8

10

Time (days)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Cost (%

of incom

e per capita)

Time Cost

* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.

Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a di erent procedure list formen and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website(http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology). For details on the procedures re ected here, see the summary below.

DetailsStartingaBusinessinSierraLeoneProcedure,TimeandCost

Applies to women only.

Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.

No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs

1 Check the uniqueness of the company name and pick up a companyregistration form

Agency : Corporate A airs Commission

The company name search can be conducted electronically or at theCorporate A airs Commission (CAC) o ce. Currently entrepreneurs preferto conduct the name search in person at the CAC o ce. If done at the o ce,Form 28 is completed by the applicant providing 3 name options. Then asearch is done by a sta member and the desired name availability iscon rmed.

The company must have a Memorandum and Articles of Association.Standard articles are available at the CAC. If the standard documents areconsidered insu cient, a solicitor can be consulted to prepare one.

1 day no charge

2 Register with the Corporate A airs Commission


Submission of the company's documents to the CAC o cer starts theincorporation process. The o cer examines the documents and issues apayment slip to settle incorporation fees. Registering an LLC costs SLL250,000 (one time fee). After submission of the completed application,supporting documents and payment of fees, the company will beincorporated and registered, and be issued a Tax Identi cation Number (TIN)and National and Social Security Insurance Trust Number (NASSIT number)using the information provided to the CAC.

5 days on average SLL 250,000

3 Pay the registration fees

Agency : Bank

The company make relevant payment by making a wire transfer. Once theCAC receives the money, it will issue the certi cate of incorporation.Entrepreneurs can also pay the fees by mobile money.

1 day no charge

4 Request a business license from the Municipality of Freetown

Agency : Municipality of Freetown

Once a TIN number is assigned, the business license and registrationcerti cate is obtained from the desk of the Freetown City Council located atthe one-stop shop within the O ce of the Administrator and RegistrarGeneral (OARG).

2 days SLL 750,000

5 Make a company seal

Agency : Sealmaker

In practice, the company typically makes a formal seal and a common seal.Under Section 17 of the Companies (Amendment) Act of 2014 this is nolonger legally required, however it is still frequently done in practice. Fordocuments used outside Sierra Leone, the formal seal is used for sealingcompany documents. This seal is usually embossed on documents with ametal device on which the companys name, crest, and the like are engraved.For documents to be used in Sierra Leone, an impression is made with acommon seal, which is usually made in ink with a wooden (or rubber) block.

2 days SLL 50,000

Dealing with Construction PermitsThis topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouseincluding obtaining necessary the licenses and permits,submitting all required noti cations, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. Inaddition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality ofbuilding regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professionalcerti cation requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for moreinformation


Procedures to legally build a warehouse (number)

Submitting all relevant documents and obtainingall necessary clearances, licenses, permits andcertificates

Submitting all required notifications andreceiving all necessary inspections

Obtaining utility connections for water andsewerage

Registering and selling the warehouse after itscompletion



Each procedure starts on a separate daythough procedures that can be fully completedonline are an exception to this rule



Cost required to complete each procedure (% ofwarehouse value)


Building quality control index (0-15)

Sum of the scores of six component indices:

Quality of building regulations (0-2)

Quality control before construction (0-1)

Quality control during construction (0-3)

Quality control after construction (0-3)

Liability and insurance regimes (0-2)

Professional certifications (0-4)


To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptionsabout the construction company, the warehouse project and the utilityconnections are used.

The construction company (BuildCo):- Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in theeconomys largest business city. For 11 economies the data are alsocollected for the second largest business city. - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has ve owners, none of whomis a legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, bothregistered with the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo isnot assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensedexperts, such as geological or topographical experts. - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell thewarehouse upon its completion.

The warehouse: - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books orstationery. - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area ofapproximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each oor willbe 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot ofapproximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% ownedby BuildCo, and the warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita. - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by alicensed architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps asobtaining further documentation or getting prior approvals from externalagencies, these are counted as procedures. - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrativeand regulatory requirements).

The water and sewerage connections: - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewertap. If there is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a boreholewill be dug. If there is no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in thesmallest size available will be installed or built. - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and anaverage wastewater ow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peakwater use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater ow of1,136 liters (300 gallons) a day. - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater owthroughout the year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connectionand 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection.

Standardized Warehouse

Estimated value of warehouse SLL 145,028,552.50




Procedures (number) 17 14.8 12.5 7.00 (Denmark)

Time (days) 182 147.5 154.6 27.5 (Korea, Rep.)

Cost (% of warehouse value) 22.8 9.9 1.6 0.10 (5 Economies)

Building quality control index (0-15) 7.0 8.0 11.4 15.00 (3 Economies)

FigureDealingwithConstructionPermitsinSierraLeoneandcomparatoreconomiesRankingandDTF


0 100


63.16: Kenya (Rank: 124)

61.90: Ghana (Rank: 131)




Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their distance to frontierscores for dealing with construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of thecomponent indicators.

FigureDealingwithConstructionPermitsinSierraLeoneProcedure,TimeandCost

Procedures (number)

1 2 3 * 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 * 15 16 170

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Time (days)

0

5

10

15

20

25

Cost (%

of w

arehouse value)

Time Cost



FigureDealingwithConstructionPermitsinSierraLeoneandcomparatoreconomiesMeasureofQuality

Sierra Leone Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Sub-Saharan Africa

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Index score

7.0

9.0

12.0

6.5

9.08.0

DetailsDealingwithConstructionPermitsinSierraLeoneProcedure,TimeandCost



1 Hire a licensed surveyor to visit the property and prepare the surveyplan

Agency : Private Surveyor

For a private property, BuildCo must hire a private licensed surveyor who willvisit the property in order to prepare the survey plan. On average, it costsaround SLL 1 million for the services of a private surveyor, which includes thecost of submitting the survey plan to the Director of Surveys and Lands.

20 days SLL 1,000,000

2 Licensed surveyor submits the survey plan to the Ministry of Lands,Country Planning and the Environment

Agency : Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and the Environment

In accordance with Section 15 of the Surveys Act Cap 256 of the Laws ofSierra Leone (as amended by section 2 of Act No 14 of the Laws of SierraLeone 1060 ), the licensed surveyor must submit the survey plan to theMinistry of Lands on behalf of the client.

1 day no charge

3 Obtain results of soil test report

Agency : Private Firm

Based on Article 22 section 2 of the Freetown Improvement Law of January 1,1960, a soil test is required so that all walls of a building rest on solid rock.

30 days USD 4,750

4 Receive countersignature of the Director of Surveys and Lands on thesurvey plan of the property


Section 2 of the Survey (Amendment) Act, 1950, mandates that each surveyplan must be countersigned by the Director of Surveys and Lands.

14 days no charge

5 Register the survey plan with the Land Registry

Agency : Land Registry

One copy of the survey plan is registered with the Land Registry. The Registrywill verify the records to ensure that there is not multiple claims to the land.

1 day SLL 10,000

6 Submit the building permit application to the O ce of the ChiefBuilding Inspector (OBI)

Agency : Ministry of Works, Housing & Infrastructure

The issuance of the building permits and building inspection functions havebeen transferred from the Ministry of Lands, Country Planning and theEnvironment to the Ministry of Works, Housing and Infrastructure. Thesupervisors at the Ministry Works, Housing and Infrastructure will check allthe documents and the plans and will assess the building fees. A nal reviewis conducted by the Chief Building Inspector.

The law provides the Ministry one month to issue the building permit. TheMinistry will conduct its own search on whether the owner of the land isaccurate.

Two sets of the following documents should be submitted at this stage: Land survey plan signed by the Director of Surveys and Lands Plan of the building 1/8 scale Floor plan Section plan Elevation

The following documents are also submitted for a building permit: Design plans for the structure (in this case, the warehouse) Land tax payment

1 day no charge

7 Receive inspection from the Ward Building Inspector to verify the landsurvey


The Ward Building Inspector conducts an inspection of the topography ofthe land and accessibility of the land via a road. They check that the land isfree of multiple claims and that it complies with the survey plan. TheInspector does not check for water and electricity connections.

1 day no charge

8 Receive signed certi cate and pay fees at the NRA desk


The Ministry of Works assesses and calculates the fees that have to be paidby BuildCo. BuildCo pays the fees at the National Revenue Authority (NRA).Upon payment, a receipt is obtained as proof of payment.

4 days SLL 2,970,000

9 Obtain building permit


14 days no charge

10 File a notice of commencement of construction


BuildCo must le a notice of commencement of construction to inform theChief Inspection O cer and his inspectors. The notice must be stamped andmust include a tentative schedule of the di erent stages of construction.

1 day no charge

11 Receive inspection of completion of structure


Previously construction companies would be subject to an inspection fromthe municipal ward at least once or twice per week. Although the regulationsprovided for phased inspections after each stage of construction, they werenever enforced. Starting in 2007 the Ministry of Lands, Country Planning andEnvironment began an active campaign to streamline its work and providebetter services. It recruited a new cadre of professional inspectors andbegan enforcing the applicable rules and regulations.

Now inspections are done only at certain stages of construction, mostimportantly: structure works and roof works. The schedule of inspections isnow issued together with the building permit. There is no need to requestinspections and once the inspectors visit the side, they do not interrupt theworks. BuildCo must post the inspections schedule on the construction site,which is then signed by the inspectors after every inspection.

1 day no charge

12 Receive inspection when roof has been covered


1 day no charge

13 File a notice of completion with the Ministry of Works and request nalinspection


BuildCo must notify the Ministry of Works at least one week prior tocompletion of the works. It then takes the Ministry between 1 -- 2 weeks tovisit the site and conduct a nal inspection.

14 days no charge

14 Receive nal inspection from Ministry of Works


1 day no charge

15Purchase and submit application form for water connection to GumaValley

Agency : Guma Valley Water Company (GVWC)

BuildCo purchases and completes the application form and submits it toGuma Valley Water Company (GVWC).

1 day SLL 10,000

16 Receive inspection from water authorities


GVWC will conduct a survey to assess the feasibility of a connection andprepares a cost estimate of materials and work. It takes about a monthbefore the inspection takes place.

1 day no charge

17 Pay and connect to water


90 days SLL 900,000

DetailsDealingwithConstructionPermitsinSierraLeoneMeasureofQuality

Answer Score

Building quality control index (0-15) 7.0

Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 1.0

How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) They must bepurchased; Noteasily accessible.

0.0

Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly speci ed in the buildingregulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1)

List of requireddocuments; Feesto be paid;Requiredpreapprovals.

1.0

Quality control before construction index (0-1) 1.0

Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are incompliance with existing building regulations? (0-1)

Licensedarchitect.

1.0

Quality control during construction index (0-3) 2.0

What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out duringconstruction? (0-2)

Inspections atvarious phases.

1.0

Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatoryinspections arealways done inpractice.

1.0

Quality control after construction index (0-3) 3.0

Is there a nal inspection required by law to verify that the building was built inaccordance with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2)

Yes, nalinspection isdone bygovernmentagency.

2.0

Do legally mandated nal inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspectionalways occurs inpractice.

1.0

Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 0.0

Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural aws or problems in thebuilding once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1)

No party is heldliable under thelaw.

0.0

Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to coverpossible structural aws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent DefectLiability Insurance or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1)

No party isrequired by lawto obtaininsurance .

0.0

Professional certi cations index (0-4) 0.0

What are the quali cation requirements for the professional responsible for verifyingthat the architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing buildingregulations? (0-2)

Universitydegree inarchitecture orengineering.

0.0

What are the quali cation requirements for the professional who supervises theconstruction on the ground? (0-2)

Universitydegree inengineering,construction orconstructionmanagement.

0.0

Getting ElectricityThis topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newlyconstructed warehouse. Additionally, the reliability of supply and transparency of tari s index measures reliability of supply,transparency of tari s and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June2017. See the methodology for more information.


Procedures to obtain an electricity connection(number)

Submitting all relevant documents and obtainingall necessary clearances and permits

Completing all required notifications andreceiving all necessary inspections

Obtaining external installation works and possiblypurchasing material for these works

Concluding any necessary supply contract andobtaining final supply


Is at least 1 calendar day

Each procedure starts on a separate day


Reflects the time spent in practice, with littlefollow-up and no prior contact with officials



Value added tax excluded

The reliability of supply and transparency oftari s index (0-8)

Duration and frequency of power outages (03)

Tools to monitor power outages (01)

Tools to restore power supply (01)

Regulatory monitoring of utilities performance(01)

Financial deterrents limiting outages (01)

Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (01)

Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)*

Price based on monthly bill for commercialwarehouse in case study

*Note: Doing Business measures the pr ice ofelectricity, but it is not included in the distance tofrontier score nor the ranking on the ease of gettingelectricity.


To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions areused.

The warehouse: - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods.- Is located in the economys largest business city. For 11 economies thedata are also collected for the second largest business city. - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and isin an area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is notnear a railway. - Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the rsttime. - Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 squaremeters (14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929square meters (10,000 square feet).

The electricity connection:- Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with asubscribed capacity of 140-kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1,when 1 kVA = 1 kilowatt (kW). - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- ormedium-voltage distr ibution network and is either overhead orunderground, whichever is more common in the area where thewarehouse is located and requires works that involve the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all carried outon public land. There is no crossing of other owners private propertybecause the warehouse has access to a road. - Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. Thishas already been completed up to and including the customers servicepanel or switchboard and the meter base.

The monthly consumption:- It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (8 hours a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacityon average and that there are no electricity cuts (assumed for simplicityreasons) and the monthly energy consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours(kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh. - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by thecheapest supplier. - Tari s e ective in March of the current year are used for calculation ofthe price of electricity for the warehouse. Although March has 31 days, forcalculation purposes only 30 days are used.

Standardized Connection

Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 24.1

Name of utility Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA)




Procedures (number) 8 5.3 4.7 2 (United ArabEmirates)

Time (days) 82 115.3 79.1 10 (United ArabEmirates)

Cost (% of income per capita) 5365.7 3737.0 63.0 0.00 (Japan)

Reliability of supply and transparency of tariffindex (0-8)

0 0.9 7.4 8.00 (28 Economies)

FigureGettingElectricityinSierraLeoneandcomparatoreconomiesRankingandDTF


0 100

76.68: Kenya (Rank: 71)

56.81: Ghana (Rank: 136)





Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores forgetting electricity. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators.

FigureGettingElectricityinSierraLeoneProcedure,TimeandCost

Procedures (number)

1 * 2 3 4 5 6 * 7 80

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Time (days)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Cost (%

of incom

e per capita)

Time Cost



FigureGettingElectricityinSierraLeoneandcomparatoreconomiesMeasureofQuality


0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Index score

0 0 0 0

4

0.9

DetailsGettingElectricityinSierraLeoneProcedure,TimeandCost



1 Submit application to EDSA and await estimate

Agency : Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA)

Customer submits application form including supporting documents (proofof ownership, photo ID), and the application is stamped by the licensedelectrical contractor. The form is then sent by the Commercial Departmentto the Transmission and Distribution Section in EDSA, who draw up theestimate. The estimate will depend on the type of supply needed. Thequotation then goes to the Audit Department for veri cation who ensurethat costs are standard. They then sent it back to the T&D Section who willprepare the nal estimate letter and send it to the customer.

14 calendar days SLL 863,000

2 Receive site inspection by EDSA


The inspector will go to the site to inspect if information provided by theapplicant is correct and to determine the type of supply that will be needed.He will also determine the right tari that will apply.

2 calendar days SLL 0

3 Purchase materials and request inspection by EDSA


When the customer receives the estimate, he also receives a list of materialsthat he needs to purchase in order to start the work. EDSA is not able toprovide the materials, for that reason applicant needs to purchase them onhis own in any specialized store. (note: there is not a particular store) .

14 calendar days SLL 152,654,720.6

4 Receive inspection of materials by EDSA


EDSA conducts an inspection of the material to con rm that they ofstandard quality. The materials bought by the customer are then used byEDSA for external connection works.


5 Receive job number, open customer account and pay supply connectionfee


The Job Number is presented in the Customer Service section, where EDSAprepares a New Customer Account. The applicant pays customer accountsdeposit.

1 calendar day 705500

6 Await completion of external works by EDSA


The utility conducts external connection works

28 calendar days SLL 1,414,000

7 Receive internal wiring inspection by EDSA


Before starting external connection, utility conducts internal wiringinspection. After this inspection, EDSA will start the work in order to bringelectricity to the warehouse.

1 calendar day SLL 0

8 Receive external inspection, meter installation and electricity ow fromEDSA


Regarding the internal wiring of the warehouse, it is the responsibility of theapplicant to set up the internal wiring of the warehouse. The applicantshould hire a certi ed electrician (see survey) in order to set up the internalwiring and certify that the internal wiring is in compliance with EDSAstandards. (Applicants form is again sent back to Meter and Test sectionwhere based on the report of inspectors, a suitable meter is selected andtested. Meter is taken to site and installed. Transmission line bought byapplicant is connected to the power line, electricity starts owing. It takesEDSA Meter section days to select a suitable meter and have it thoroughlytested before installation is done. Actual installation work at the site lasts foronly a few hours.


DetailsGettingElectricityinSierraLeoneMeasureofQuality

Note:

If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparencyof tari index.

If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.

If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.

Answer

Reliability of supply and transparency of tari index (0-8) 0

Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 0

System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) ..

System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) ..

What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI N/A

Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 0

Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? No

Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 0

Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? No

Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 0

Does a regulatorthat is, an entity separate from the utilitymonitor the utilitys performance onreliability of supply?

No

Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 0

Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face nes by the regulator (or both) if outagesexceed a certain cap?

No

Communication of tari s and tari changes (0-1) 1

Are e ective tari s available online? Yes

Link to the website, if available online http://www.edsa.sl/index.php/customer-services/billing-payments

Are customers noti ed of a change in tari ahead of the billing cycle? Yes

Registering PropertyThis topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur whowants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures thequality of the land administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has ve dimensions: reliability ofinfrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. Themost recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information.


Procedures to legally transfer title on immovableproperty (number)

Preregistration procedures (for example,checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement,paying property transfer taxes)

Registration procedures in the economy's largestbusiness citya.

Postregistration procedures (for example, fillingtitle with municipality)



Each procedure starts on a separate day - thoughprocedures that can be fully completed onlineare an exception to this rule



Cost required to complete each procedure (% ofproperty value)

Official costs only (such as administrative fees,duties and taxes).

Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicitpayments are excluded

Quality of land administration index (0-30)

Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8)

Transparency of information index (06)

Geographic coverage index (08)

Land dispute resolution index (08)

Equal access to property rights index (-20)


To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptionsabout the parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures areused.

The parties (buyer and seller):- Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent).- Are located in the periurban area of the economys largest business city.For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largestbusiness city.- Are 100% domestically and privately owned.- Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals.- Perform general commercial activities.

The property (fully owned by the seller):- Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price.- Is fully owned by the seller.- Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership forthe past 10 years.- Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of titledisputes.- Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required.- Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters(6,000 square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000square feet) is located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is ingood condition, has no heating system and complies with all safetystandards, building codes and legal requirements. The property,consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its entirety. - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following thepurchase.- Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historicalmonuments of any kind.- Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as forresidential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types ofagricultural activities, are required.- Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it.

Standard Property Transfer

Property value SLL 145,028,552.50




Procedures (number) 7 6.2 4.6 1.00 (4 Economies)

Time (days) 56 59.3 22.3 1.00 (3 Economies)

Cost (% of property value) 10.8 7.8 4.2 0.00 (5 Economies)

Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 6.5 8.6 22.7 29.00 (Singapore)

FigureRegisteringPropertyinSierraLeoneandcomparatoreconomiesRankingandDTF


0 100

55.50: Ghana (Rank: 119)

54.49: Kenya (Rank: 125)





Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores forregistering property. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators.

FigureRegisteringPropertyinSierraLeoneProcedure,TimeandCost

Procedures (number)

1 2 3 4 5 6 70

10

20

30

40

50

Time (days)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Cost (%

of property value)

Time Cost



FigureRegisteringPropertyinSierraLeoneandcomparatoreconomiesMeasureofQuality


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Index score

6.58.0

6.5

3.0

16.0

8.6

DetailsRegisteringPropertyinSierraLeoneProcedure,TimeandCost



1 The buyer veri es the sellers title to the property at the PropertyRegistry

Agency : Land Registry, O ce of the Administrator and Registrar General

With a copy of the abstract of title the buyer then conducts a search in theproperty register to verify the sellers title to the property as well asinformation regarding the encumbrances on the property.

5 days SLL 20,000

2 A licensed surveyor visits the property and prepares the survey plan

Agency : Licensed surveyor

A private, licensed surveyor visits the property in order to prepare thesurvey plan. On average, it is expected to pay around SLL 1.5 million for theservices of a private surveyor, which includes as well the cost of submittingthe survey plan to the Director of Surveys and Lands 1,000/00 for one townlot, 10,000/00 for 1 acre 500/00 for change of name in a survey plan

20 days SLL 1 million

3 A licensed surveyor submit the survey plan to the Ministry of Lands andHousing


The buyer should obtain a survey plan of the property duly signed by theDirector of Surveys and Lands.

1 day no cost

4 Countersignature of the Director of Surveys and Lands on the surveyplan of the property


In accordance to Section 15 of the Survey Act, CAP 128 of the Laws of SierraLeone provides for the submission of every site plan to be inserted in adocument to be registered. Section 2 of the Survey (Amendment) Act, 1950,mandates that each such plan should be countersigned by the Director ofSurveys and Lands. In accordance to Section 15 of the Surveys Act Cap 256 ofthe Laws of Sierra Leone (as amended by section 2 of Act No 14 of the Lawsof Sierra Leone 1960 ), the licensed surveyor will submit the survey plan tothe lands ministry on behalf of the buyer. The countersigned survey will bereturned to the surveyor who submitted the survey plan to the Director ofSurveys and Lands.

2 weeks no cost

5 Preparation and execution of the sale purchase agreement by a hiredlawyer

Agency : Lawyer's o ce

Registration of Instruments Act, Cap 256 of the Laws of Sierra Leone and theStamp Duty Act, Cap 274 stipulate that all registrable instruments have to beprepared and deposited by a legal practitioner.

7 days 10% of purchaseprice

6 Obtain a tax clearance certi cate from the National Revenue Authority

Agency : National Revenue Authority

The tax clearance is applied for after the deed document is prepared . It issubmitted to the NRA on application for tax clearance, and payment of theassessed tax, the deed is stamped on the margin of the front page, and areceipt issued, which is attached to the document. The seller of the propertypays 30% of the pro t derived from the sale as capital gains tax, and theabove certi cate is issued. Please note that Capital gains tax is not includedin the calculation.

2 days SLL 5,000 + 30%capital gains tax (notincluded in thecalculation)

7 Registration of the transfer of instrument by the Registrar General

Agency : Land Registry, O ce of the Administrator and Registrar General

The transfer of title is registered by the Registrar General. Companies areregistered at the Stamp duty, registration fee, Property fee and local taxes(estimates based on acreage) are paid at this time. The registration fee is a xed fee.

7 days 0.1% for the stampduty + SLL 50,000 forthe fast trackprocedure

DetailsRegisteringPropertyinSierraLeoneMeasureofQuality

Answer Score

Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 6.5

Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) 0.0

What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration? O ce of theAdministratorand RegistrarGeneral

In what format are the majority of title or deed records kept in the largest business cityin a paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)?

Paper 0.0

Is there an electronic database for checking for encumbrances (liens, mortgages,restrictions and the like)?

No 0.0

Institution in charge of the plans showing legal boundaries in the largest business city: The Surveys andLandsDepartment atthe Ministry ofLands, CountryPlanning, andthe Environment.

In what format are the majority of maps of land plots kept in the largest business cityin a paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)?

Paper 0.0

Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providingcadastral information (geographic information system)?

No 0.0

Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and thecadastral or mapping agency kept in a single database, in di erent but linked databasesor in separate databases?

Separatedatabases

0.0

Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency usethe same identi cation number for properties?

No 0.0

Transparency of information index (06) 3.0

Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge ofimmovable property registration in the largest business city?

Anyone whopays the o cialfee

1.0

Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transactionmade publicly availableand if so, how?

Yes, online 0.5

Link for online access: http://www.oarg.gov.sl/Land%20Registry.html

Is the applicable fee schedule for any property transaction at the agency in charge ofimmovable property registration in the largest business city made publicly availableand if so, how?

Yes, online 0.5


Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering alegally binding document that proves property ownership within a speci c time frameand if so, how does it communicate the service standard?

Yes, online 0.5


Is there a speci c and separate mechanism for ling complaints about a problem thatoccurred at the agency in charge of immovable property registration?

No 0.0

Contact information:

Are there publicly available o cial statistics tracking the number of transactions at theimmovable property registration agency?

No 0.0

Number of property transfers in the largest business city in 2015:

Who is able to consult maps of land plots in the largest business city? Anyone whopays the o cialfee

0.5

Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly availableand if so, how?

Yes, in person 0.0

Link for online access:

Does the cadastral or mapping agency commit to delivering an updated map within aspeci c time frameand if so, how does it communicate the service standard?

No 0.0

Link for online access:

Is there a speci c and separate mechanism for ling complaints about a problem thatoccurred at the cadastral or mapping agency?

No 0.0

Contact information:

Geographic coverage index (08) 0.0

Are all privately held land plots in the economy formally registered at the immovableproperty registry?

No 0.0

Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city formally registered at theimmovable property registry?

No 0.0

Are all privately held land plots in the economy mapped? No 0.0

Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city mapped? No 0.0

Land dispute resolution index (08) 3.5

Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovableproperty registry to make them opposable to third parties?

Yes 1.5

Is the system of immovable property registration subject to a state or privateguarantee?

No 0.0

Is there a speci c compensation mechanism to cover for losses incurred by parties whoengaged in good faith in a property transaction based on erroneous informationcerti ed by the immovable property registry?

No 0.0

Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for aproperty transaction (e.g., checking the compliance of contracts with requirements ofthe law)?

Yes 0.5

If yes, who is responsible for checking the legality of the documents? Lawyer.

Does the legal system require veri cation of the identity of the parties to a propertytransaction?

Yes 0.5

If yes, who is responsible for verifying the identity of the parties? Registrar;Lawyer.

Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of identity documents? Yes 1.0

For a standard land dispute between two local businesses over tenure rights of aproperty worth 50 times gross national income (GNI) per capita and located in thelargest business city, what court would be in charge of the case in the rst instance?

The High Courtof Sierra Leone

How long does it take on average to obtain a decision from the rst-instance court forsuch a case (without appeal)?

More than 3years

0.0

Are there any statistics on the number of land disputes in the rst instance? No 0.0

Number of land disputes in the largest business city in 2015:

Equal access to property rights index (-20) 0.0

Do unmarried men and unmarried women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0

Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0

Getting CreditThis topic explores two sets of issuesthe strength of credit reporting systems and the e ectiveness of collateral and bankruptcylaws in facilitating lending. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See themethodology for more information.


Strength of legal rights index (012)

Rights of borrowers and lenders throughcollateral laws (0-10)

Protection of secured creditors rights throughbankruptcy laws (0-2)

Depth of credit information index (08)

Scope and accessibility of credit informationdistributed by credit bureaus and creditregistries (0-8)

Credit bureau coverage (% of adults)

Number of individuals and firms listed in largestcredit bureau as a percentage of adult population

Credit registry coverage (% of adults)

Number of individuals and firms listed in creditregistry as a percentage of adult population


Doing Business assesses the sharing of credit information and the legalrights of borrowers and lenders with respect to secured transactionsthrough 2 sets of indicators. The depth of credit information indexmeasures rules and practices a ecting the coverage, scope andaccessibility of credit information available through a credit registry or acredit bureau. The strength of legal rights index measures the degree towhich collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers andlenders and thus facilitate lending. For each economy it is first determinedwhether a unitary secured transactions system exists. Then two casescenarios, case A and case B, are used to determine how a nonpossessorysecurity interest is created, publicized and enforced according to the law.Special emphasis is given to how the collateral registry operates (ifregistration of security interests is possible). The case scenarios involve asecured borrower, company ABC, and a secured lender, BizBank.

In some economies the legal framework for secured transactions will allowonly case A or case B (not both) to apply. Both cases examine the same setof legal provisions relating to the use of movable collateral.

Several assumptions about the secured borrower (ABC) and lender(BizBank) are used:- ABC is a domestic limited liability company (or its legal equivalent).- ABC has up to 50 employees.- ABC has its headquarters and only base of operations in the economyslargest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for thesecond largest business city.- Both ABC and BizBank are 100% domestically owned.

The case scenarios also involve assumptions. In case A, as collateral for theloan, ABC grants BizBank a nonpossessory security interest in one categoryof movable assets, for example, its machinery or its inventory. ABC wantsto keep both possession and ownership of the collateral. In economieswhere the law does not allow nonpossessory security interests in movableproperty, ABC and BizBank use a fiduciary transfer-of-title arrangement (ora similar substitute for nonpossessory security interests).

In case B, ABC grants BizBank a business charge, enterprise charge, floating

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http://dbuat.financeandprivatesector.org/data/exploreeconomies/profile/~/media/WBG/DoingBusiness/Documents/Profiles/Country/SLEhttp://dbuat.financeandprivatesector.org/data/exploreeconomies/profile/~/media/AF824138BBBF4853B9C8C237C3D99FF9.ashxhttp://dbuat.financeandprivatesector.org/reforms/overview/economy/Sierra Leonehttp://dbuat.financeandprivatesector.org/~/media/WBG/DoingBusiness/Documents/Methodology/LMR/LMR-DB18-service-sector-data-points-and-details.xlsx?la=enhttp://dbuat.financeandprivatesector.org/methodology/LMR-why-it-mattershttp://dbuat.financeandprivatesector.org/About-Us/FAQ#EWI

Economy Pro le of Sierra Leone

Doing Business 2018 Indicators(in order of appearance in the document)

Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company

Dealing with constructionpermits

Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality control andsafety mechanisms in the construction permitting system

Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, the reliability of the electricity supply andthe transparency of tariffs

Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration system

Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems

Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance

Paying taxes Payments, time and total tax rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as post-filing processes

Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts

Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes

Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal frameworkfor insolvency

Labor market regulation Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality

About Doing BusinessThe Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies andselected cities at the subnational and regional level.

The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulationsapplying to them through their life cycle.

Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local rms. It providesquantitative indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registeringproperty, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolvinginsolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankingsof economies on the labor market regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier score or ranking onthe ease of doing business, it does present the data for these indicators.

By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies andover time, Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more e cient regulation; o ers measurable benchmarks forreform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the businessclimate of each economy.

In addition, Doing Business o ers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in di erentcities and regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommendreforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with othercities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked.

The rst Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This years report covers 11indicator sets and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, exceptfor 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business, also collected data for the secondlargest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. Theproject has bene ted from feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to providean objective basis for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business around the world.

The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the frontier, which represents the bestperformance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economysdistance to frontier is re ected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 represents thefrontier. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190. The ranking of 190 economies is determined by sorting theaggregate distance to frontier scores, rounded to two decimals.

More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB)

Ease of Doing Business inSierra Leone

Region Sub-Saharan Africa

Income Category Low income

Population 7,396,190

GNI Per Capita (US$) 490


DB2018Rank190 1

160

DB2018DistancetoFrontier(DTF)0 100

48.18

0 100

65.15:Kenya(Rank:80)

57.24:Ghana(Rank:120)

50.43:RegionalAverage(SubSaharanAfrica)

49.80:Guinea(Rank:153)

48.18:SierraLeone(Rank:160)

41.45:GuineaBissau(Rank:176)


Note: The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the frontier, which represents the best performance observed on each ofthe indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economys distance to frontier is re ected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0represents the lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190.

Rankings on Doing Business topics - Sierra Leone

Startinga

Business

Dealingwith

ConstructionPermits

GettingElectricity

RegisteringProperty

GettingCredit


PayingTaxes


EnforcingContracts

ResolvingInsolvency

1

28

55

82

109

136

163

190

Rank

83

182 178165 159

81 85

162

100

159

Distance to Frontier (DTF) on Doing Business topics - Sierra Leone

Startinga

BusinessChange:+0.47

Dealingwith

ConstructionPermits

Change:-2.62

GettingElectricity

Change:-3.52

RegisteringProperty

Change:-0.20

GettingCredit

Change:0.00


Change:0.00

PayingTaxes

Change:0.00


Change:+5.18

EnforcingContractsChange:0.00

ResolvingInsolvencyChange:+0.08

0

20

40

60

80

100

DTF

86.95

38.4330.65

43.27

25.00

55.00

72.86

48.9955.92

24.72

Starting a BusinessThis topic measures the paid-in minimum capital requirement, number of procedures, time and cost for a small- to medium-sizedlimited liability company to start up and formally operate in economys largest business city.

To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domesticallyowned, has start-up capital equivalent to 10 times income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities andemploys between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Startinga Business considers two types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is ownedby 5 married women and the other by 5 married men. The distance to frontier score for each indicator is the average of the scoresobtained for each of the component indicators.

The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information.


Procedures to legal ly start and operate acompany (number)

Pre-registration (for example, name verificationor reservation, notarization)

Registration in economys largest business city

Post-registration (for example, social securityregistration, company seal)

Obtaining approval from spouse to start businessor leave home to register company

Obtaining any gender-specific permission thatcan impact company registration, companyoperations and process of getting nationalidentity card



Each procedure starts on a separate day (2procedures cannot start on the same day)

Procedures fully completed online are recordedas day





No professional fees unless services required bylaw or commonly used in practice

Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita)

Funds deposited in a bank or with third partybefore registration or up to 3 months afterincorporation


To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptionsabout the business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that anyrequired information is readily available and that the entrepreneur will payno bribes.

The business:- Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more thanone type of limited liability company in the economy, the most commonamong domestic rms is chosen. Information on the most common form isobtained from incorporation lawyers or the statistical o ce. - Operates in the economys largest business city and the entire o cespace is approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). For 11economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.- Is 100% domestically owned and has ve owners, none of whom is a legalentity; and has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has aturnover of at least 100 times income per capita. - Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as theproduction or sale of goods or services to the public. The business doesnot perform foreign trade activities and does not handle products subjectto a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. It does not useheavily polluting production processes. - Leases the commercial plant or o ces and is not a proprietor of realestate and the amount of the annual lease for the o ce space is equivalentto 1 times income per capita.- Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special bene ts. - Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month af ter thecommencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. - Has a company deed 10 pages long.

The owners: - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority,they are assumed to be 30 years old. - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record. - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with theauthorities. - Where the answer di ers according to the legal system applicable to thewoman or man in question (as may be the case in economies where thereis legal plurality), the answer used will be the one that applies to themajority of the population.

Standardized Company

Legal form Limited Liability Company

Paid-in minimum capital requirement SLL 0




Procedure Men (number) 5 7.6 4.9 1.00 (New Zealand)

Time Men (days) 11 24.0 8.5 0.50 (New Zealand)

Cost Men (% of income per capita) 36.2 49.9 3.1 0.00 (United Kingdom)

Procedure Women (number) 5 7.7 4.9 1.00 (New Zealand)

Time Women (days) 11 24.1 8.5 0.50 (New Zealand)

Cost Women (% of income per capita) 36.2 49.9 3.1 0.00 (United Kingdom)

Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0.0 25.6 8.7 0.00 (113 Economies)

FigureStartingaBusinessinSierraLeoneandcomparatoreconomiesRankingandDTF


0 100


84.02: Ghana (Rank: 110)

83.20: Kenya (Rank: 117)




Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores forstarting a business. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators.

FigureStartingaBusinessinSierraLeoneProcedure,TimeandCost

Procedures (number)

1 2 3 4 50

2

4

6

8

10

Time (days)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Cost (%

of incom

e per capita)

Time Cost



DetailsStartingaBusinessinSierraLeoneProcedure,TimeandCost

Applies to women only.



1 Check the uniqueness of the company name and pick up a companyregistration form


The company name search can be conducted electronically or at theCorporate A airs Commission (CAC) o ce. Currently entrepreneurs preferto conduct the name search in person at the CAC o ce. If done at the o ce,Form 28 is completed by the applicant providing 3 name options. Then asearch is done by a sta member and the desired name availability iscon rmed.

The company must have a Memorandum and Articles of Association.Standard articles are available at the CAC. If the standard documents areconsidered insu cient, a solicitor can be consulted to prepare one.

1 day no charge

2 Register with the Corporate A airs Commission


Submission of the company's documents to the CAC o cer starts theincorporation process. The o cer examines the documents and issues apayment slip to settle incorporation fees. Registering an LLC costs SLL250,000 (one time fee). After submission of the completed application,supporting documents and payment of fees, the company will beincorporated and registered, and be issued a Tax Identi cation Number (TIN)and National and Social Security Insurance Trust Number (NASSIT number)using the information provided to the CAC.

5 days on average SLL 250,000

3 Pay the registration fees

Agency : Bank

The company make relevant payment by making a wire transfer. Once theCAC receives the money, it will issue the certi cate of incorporation.Entrepreneurs can also pay the fees by mobile money.

1 day no charge

4 Request a business license from the Municipality of Freetown

Agency : Municipality of Freetown

Once a TIN number is assigned, the business license and registrationcerti cate is obtained from the desk of the Freetown City Council located atthe one-stop shop within the O ce of the Administrator and RegistrarGeneral (OARG).

2 days SLL 750,000

5 Make a company seal

Agency : Sealmaker

In practice, the company typically makes a formal seal and a common seal.Under Section 17 of the Companies (Amendment) Act of 2014 this is nolonger legally required, however it is still frequently done in practice. Fordocuments used outside Sierra Leone, the formal seal is used for sealingcompany documents. This seal is usually embossed on documents with ametal device on which the companys name, crest, and the like are engraved.For documents to be used in Sierra Leone, an impression is made with acommon seal, which is usually made in ink with a wooden (or rubber) block.

2 days SLL 50,000

Dealing with Construction PermitsThis topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouseincluding obtaining necessary the licenses and permits,submitting all required noti cations, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. Inaddition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality ofbuilding regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professionalcerti cation requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for moreinformation


Procedures to legally build a warehouse (number)

Submitting all relevant documents and obtainingall necessary clearances, licenses, permits andcertificates

Submitting all required notifications andreceiving all necessary inspections

Obtaining utility connections for water andsewerage

Registering and selling the warehouse after itscompletion



Each procedure starts on a separate daythough procedures that can be fully completedonline are an exception to this rule



Cost required to complete each procedure (% ofwarehouse value)


Building quality control index (0-15)

Sum of the scores of six component indices:

Quality of building regulations (0-2)

Quality control before construction (0-1)

Quality control during construction (0-3)

Quality control after construction (0-3)

Liability and insurance regimes (0-2)

Professional certifications (0-4)


To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptionsabout the construction company, the warehouse project and the utilityconnections are used.

The construction company (BuildCo):- Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in theeconomys largest business city. For 11 economies the data are alsocollected for the second largest business city. - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has ve owners, none of whomis a legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, bothregistered with the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo isnot assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensedexperts, such as geological or topographical experts. - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell thewarehouse upon its completion.

The warehouse: - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books orstationery. - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area ofapproximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each oor willbe 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot ofapproximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% ownedby BuildCo, and the warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita. - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by alicensed architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps asobtaining further documentation or getting prior approvals from externalagencies, these are counted as procedures. - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrativeand regulatory requirements).

The water and sewerage connections: - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewertap. If there is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a boreholewill be dug. If there is no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in thesmallest size available will be installed or built. - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and anaverage wastewater ow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peakwater use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater ow of1,136 liters (300 gallons) a day. - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater owthroughout the year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connectionand 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection.

Standardized Warehouse

Estimated value of warehouse SLL 145,028,552.50




Procedures (number) 17 14.8 12.5 7.00 (Denmark)

Time (days) 182 147.5 154.6 27.5 (Korea, Rep.)

Cost (% of warehouse value) 22.8 9.9 1.6 0.10 (5 Economies)

Building quality control index (0-15) 7.0 8.0 11.4 15.00 (3 Economies)

FigureDealingwithConstructionPermitsinSierraLeoneandcomparatoreconomiesRankingandDTF


0 100


63.16: Kenya (Rank: 124)

61.90: Ghana (Rank: 131)




Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their distance to frontierscores for dealing with construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of thecomponent indicators.

FigureDealingwithConstructionPermitsinSierraLeoneProcedure,TimeandCost

Procedures (number)

1 2 3 * 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 * 15 16 170

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Time (days)

0

5

10

15

20

25

Cost (%

of w

arehouse value)

Time Cost



FigureDealingwithConstructionPermitsinSierraLeoneandcomparatoreconomiesMeasureofQuality


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Index score

7.0

9.0

12.0

6.5

9.08.0

DetailsDealingwithConstructionPermitsinSierraLeoneProcedure,TimeandCost



1 Hire a licensed surveyor to visit the property and prepare the surveyplan

Agency : Private Surveyor

For a private property, BuildCo must hire a private licensed surveyor who willvisit the property in order to prepare the survey plan. On average, it costsaround SLL 1 million for the services of a private surveyor, which includes thecost of submitting the survey plan to the Director of Surveys and Lands.

20 days SLL 1,000,000

2 Licensed surveyor submits the survey plan to the Ministry of Lands,Country Planning and the Environment


In accordance with Section 15 of the Surveys Act Cap 256 of the Laws ofSierra Leone (as amended by section 2 of Act No 14 of the Laws of SierraLeone 1060 ), the licensed surveyor must submit the survey plan to theMinistry of Lands on behalf of the client.

1 day no charge

3 Obtain results of soil test report

Agency : Private Firm

Based on Article 22 section 2 of the Freetown Improvement Law of January 1,1960, a soil test is required so that all walls of a building rest on solid rock.

30 days USD 4,750

4 Receive countersignature of the Director of Surveys and Lands on thesurvey plan of the property


Section 2 of the Survey (Amendment) Act, 1950, mandates that each surveyplan must be countersigned by the Director of Surveys and Lands.

14 days no charge

5 Register the survey plan with the Land Registry

Agency : Land Registry