A.1. A lot is happening right now. We are busy getting the people back on the fields. Very recently a large quantity of siderites has been distributed to the population to enhance agricultural production. This year there are a number of tractors distributed to the rice producing regions. We were told by the Ministry of Agriculture, that thanks to the policy that has been adopted, this year the rice production will reach the pre-war level. Of course whilst that is done, we are already making the first progress in reaching food sufficiency. There are a lot of new programs to engage also the young in the agricultural production of the country. AS you may know, most of these people now are concentrated in the diamond mining areas and we don't like that. There are certain security implications, you can spend years digging for diamonds and chances are that you won't even get to see them. This is when most of the young men become frustrated; they feel like they have wasted their time. The Government is trying to get those people to return to their lands and get involved in agriculture again. We are trying to set the example that agriculture is an honourable employment; we are trying to promote it among the population. Everybody from the Government has a farm; this is also to show the people that it is possible to make a living out of agriculture and to raise the prestige. By the next rice grain season, we expect to have at least one tractor or two distributed to every district of the country. We are encouraged by the Ministry of Agriculture that a new variety of rice has been discovered, and that will result in tripling the output of rice. I am very optimistic, that even before the targeted period set by the President, we will achieve full food sufficiency to the extent that even before reaching the end of that period, we will be even able to export rice. At the same time there is an attempt to get people to diversify their food. The problem is that Sierra Leonean eat a lot of rice, when there are so many different food stocks available, like potatoes, cassava, etc. The Ministry is thinking about embarking on a campaign to promote food diversification. If that is done it will also contribute to achieving the food sufficiency program.

Q.2. Recently, the first round of oil exploration bids have been finalized, it is a new phenomenon in Sierra Leone, how would you evaluate the interest expressed by potential bidders?

A.2. I am also the chairman of the bids evaluation committee. We invited bids for oil exploration in the respected areas, where seismic survey has already been carried out. We had very positive response from 3 oil companies. We evaluated their profile, we found it to be very impressive and these companies will be awarded their exploration blocks. In fact, we are meeting on Thursday with the Government to decide about the date and the time when they should come to negotiate the exploration agreement. After that we will expect them to come and carry out the exploration. We are very hopeful that the exploration will bring us good results. These projects are in the pipeline, so to say.

Q.3. It is interesting that there were no big names, except for Repsol, among those companies that offered their bids, what do you think is the reason for that?

A.3. In fact, after we had awarded the first bids, immediately we had other companies expressing their interest, like Amoco, BP, etc. However, we need more seismic survey that would be given to them for evaluation. Among the companies that got their bids awarded, there is a very big Spanish company, called Repsol. It is a very reputable company and it has very big operations in South America and other parts of the world. We gave them 2 blocks and they have asked for a third one, but that has already been awarded to another company. We were very impressed with their profile; I think that this company is big enough for us. We don't just want the name; we want them to be committed to our case.

Q.4. We have spoken about the agriculture, exploration of course, everybody knows about the mining sector, what other sectors have the potential to be attractive for foreign investors?

A.4. We would like think that it's going to be tourism. We want people to come and invest in tourism. Tourism, if developed can help us earn a lot of foreign exchange. We would like people to show more interest to it. Then, we also have very rich marine resources, people don't seem to be noticing that, but we wish to develop them in the future.
We have just agreed with our foreign partners to reactivate the rutile mining in Sierra Leone. We are hopeful that until the end of the year, that project will materialize.
Talks are also underway to reopen the iron ore mines. Generally speaking we have a lot of minerals like bauxites; we have gold in the north of the country, platinum. We have very rich environmental resources and they need to be explored. We are putting together a Foreign Investment Code and I can assure you that it's going to be very investor friendly. We have put together a number of liberal laws to encourage the investors to come, they can repatriate their profit, there will be incentives, etc.

A.5. With the war over now and with the establishment of democracy, people's expectations are very high. We have tried to explain them you can not achieve everything overnight. We try to let them see the gradual improvements in the infrastructure that was devastated, we have a number of projects to reconstruct and develop roads. We are lowering the cost of education, so that everybody is able to send their kids to school. There is free education in primary school already; we are lowering the school fees in higher education. We are assisting the old people, pregnant women, children with free medical treatment. Like that people start understanding that it is much better to be in peace than in war. Above all they are free to move around the country. As you see the standards of life are slowly improving. People are free to pursue what they want to pursue, they are enjoying their freedom, while we are continuing to further improve the conditions.

Q.6. You are also often representing the Government of Sierra Leone to the outside world, what is the challenge that you are facing to get the country back on the agenda of the international community?

A.6. The first thing that we have to do is to remove the perception that people have about Sierra Leone. We have to convince them to come and see for themselves that we have peace and security. We want them to know that there is much more peace and security in this country than in many other in the region. We want to ensure them also that their investments will be secure. They also have to know that there is security in this country; the crime rate is very low. We have a democratically elected Government that protects people's rights and their property. We have a very vibrant and active anticorruption committee and it is important for them to know that all the cases are being attended, whether in the private or in the public sector. In other words, the environment exists for investors to come. There are still challenges remaining, we are trying to settle the energy problem. It is under very serious consideration of the Government to make the continuous flow of electricity available everywhere. If I was a foreign investor and was looking for a virgin area, Sierra Leone would be definitely one of them.

Q.7. Sierra Leone is an island of stability in a region that is in turmoil. How could this country play a key role in stabilizing the whole region?

A.7. The first person to make that statement with regards to our stability in the region, was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. I think we are on the right way to achieve that role. If you look at the region, I don't see any other country that would be as stable as we are. I can not see any territory that would be as stable as Sierra Leone is and I don't see any country that would have the potential that we have, to remain stabile for a very long time. Some countries may appear to be stabile but one can see that there is some trouble there beneath. We have freedom of expression, just look at the number of newspapers that we have and look at the stories they write about. Nobody bothers them for that; they are not forced to go underground. We prefer them to talk and write as much as they want. I think that by knowing all that, the statement about us being an island of stability is correct.

Q.8. As we are talking, there is a crisis going on in Liberia. How can that affect the future development of your country? Do you think it may divert the funds that were originally meant for Sierra Leone?

A.8. I don't think that this will happen. The international community has invested so much here, they should see that all their efforts bear fruit. That is why they should not divert their activities from Sierra Leone. If they will go into Liberia, we would like to retain what we have, so that in the close future they can see us take off and fly. It might as well be counterproductive if they would suddenly turn away from Sierra Leone; it might slow down the development that we have achieved. As we said before, the population is very anxious to see that there is tangible evidence for peace and democracy. Anything that can slow down the achievements should be avoided.

Q.9. What would be the remaining challenges for you in the years to come as Vice President?

A.9. The main challenge is to be able to secure the status quo and reactivate the country. Also, to be able to reactivate the economic infrastructure, the social infrastructure and to retain the level of political tolerance that already exists in our society. To make sure that peace and reconciliation prevails all around. Let us forget what has happened. Let all that be a matter of history and let's not use it to judge anybody.