By Alie Sonta Kamara
For the past three weeks, the National Tourist Board has been making headlines for the wrong reasons.
It started off with its release on April 4, which barred 25 beachfront bars from operating, claiming non-compliance.
This was after it had unceremoniously increased yearly fees from six thousand to one hundred thousand New Leones, citing the Finance Act 2022 as the relevant backing that gives its body the power to do so.
This move has already led to a significant job loss as the affected owners are complaining of finding it hard to pay workers amid shrinking sales.
Some of the affected owners said the Tourist Board promised them that it would bring in tourists to boost their businesses. “But nothing like that is happening,” said an angry owner.
Added to this frustration is how the National Tourist Board is so uneducated about the monetary value of seaweeds that could have contributed quite significantly to the economy of the country. According to reports, the global commercial seaweed market was valued at approximately 15 billion U.S. dollars in 2021.
A new World Bank report estimates that ten emerging global seaweed markets have a potential growth of up to $11.8 billion by 2030.
In Sierra Leone, seaweeds are considered a burden, only to be dumped away.
By now, it is not surprising why the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, an umbrella body in the tourism business, failed woefully in the 2024 Sierra Leone Cabinet Performance Contract, sitting below 35 percent.
Is it not clear to the tourism experts that it is private sector investment that can attract tourists and boost tourism? Why frustrate those already giving life to this sector? “While the National Tourist Board has failed in its promise to bring in tourists, it is raising yearly beachfront fees to unimaginable heights in this economic downturn,” said one affected owner.
The Tourist Board is demanding that the targeted beach bar owners cover fees from 2021 to date. “The year 2021 was a Covid 19 period, which impacted our businesses a whole lot. The year 2024 was a year of demolition exercises coming in two types: those under full demolition, which did take place, and those asked to upgrade and reconstruct their structures. We spent our money reconstructing our business places until June, which marked the end of the tourism season in Sierra Leone,” remarked another owner.
Reports say some owners had paid for 2023 and 2024 in advance. “We were given receipts to that effect. We were caught by surprise when the Board came out in December 2024 with new invoices, containing business-killing fees, something which our enterprises are not making.
On the beachfront fees, the National Tourist Board said the increment comes in two folds: Increase in Land Development fees and Increase in Licenses fees. But it failed to provide the specifics respecting the initial cost and the current one. It also failed to justify the quantum leap in the fee cost, citing the Finance Act 2022. “It’s a policy,” it added.
