Summit Communications: The publication date of our report is going to coincide with the withdrawal of UN troops. This withdrawal is a clear indication of the international community's confidence in the durability of peace here in Sierra Leone. We will be very interested to communicate to the readers of the New Times, your outlook on the stability of the peace in your country in the coming years.

Mr. Sam King: First I would like to thank you for taking time to come over and test the temperature of Sierra Leone and security after the withdrawal of UNAMSIL. I have always thought that UNAMSIL should not be longer than the necessary in Sierra Leone. We are very grateful to the international community that constitute UNAMSIL for comming over to stabilize the peace in Sierra Leone, but having done their job, I believe their continued presence is a deterrent to investment. As I would simply put it, who in this world would want to invest money in a country that does not have control over their own security? And also the provision that security by UNAMSIL, is not under our own control; UN is paying them, it means then that they can withdraw at anytime and thereby providing some kind complacency. So I think this country has now Commonwealth; they are providing a lot of logistical and technical support to the Sierra Leone police force. The IMAT are doing a lot of bilateral arrangements, with Great Britain also supporting the Sierra Leone Military extensively. I believe these are all indicators that will show that Sierra Leone is ready to take up the challenges of stabilizing its own security. It serves as a good signal for all investors to know that the country is peaceful; the police force is fine; the crime rate is low and the country is right for invest. The continuous presence of UNAMSIL will not help Sierra Leone, as it will propagate the negative perception with regards the security in the country.
I am absolutely confident that Sierra Leone is ready and capable to handle its own security situation. In any country, security is an on going process. We all remember the recent unfortunate happenings in London. They are very security conscious and one of the best countries in the world in terms of security; but sometimes things do happen beyond their control. So I would not say my country is self reliant or self sufficient, security wise; that's why we should develop bilateral arrangements with countries that are friendly by way of exchanging information, sharing Technology. Every country needs that; Sierra Leone is no exception. I believe that we are fine, security wise.

Summit Communications: That is great news for any potential tourists hoping to come into this Country. Personally I am very impressed about the warmth and hospitality the people have given me here; it's such a beautiful country.

Mr. Sam King: The country is beautiful, and investment is what Sierra Leone now needs most. Sierra Leone needs investment now more than ever before. We should now place emphasis on the strategies of promoting investment and trade in Sierra Leone, without which, there is a potential danger to the peace. So investment needs to come quickly; that's my honest opinion. Without investment, especially the private sector, to create jobs for the potential youths that are idling around; they need decent jobs and thereby direct their energy into productive activities; they would be empowered; they would have a sustainable livelihood; some of them have gone to technical and vocational schools; but if there is no investment in the country that would create job opportunities, all the education would be wasted. We don't even have a welfare scheme that takes care of the unemployed and these unemployed youths would become an additional problem in the country. Therefore, investment is needed in the country and especially now.

Summit Communications: Focusing in particular on the tourism sector which obviously has a great potential for investment in terms of creating jobs which would have a multiplier effect on the country. We understand that Sierra Leone used to attract around a hundred thousand visitors per year. What challenges are you facing in order to try and attract those tourists back into the country?

Mr. Sam King: The first challenge is confidence building. There are a lot of negative perceptions about Sierra Leone in terms of security. So, for us to attract Tourists and others back into the country, we need to tell the world that Sierra Leone is now a safe place and that security is stabilised; that there is internal adequate security apparatus that will meet their security needs. We have to also show to the world that indeed we are able to support the initiative; peace initiative; the investment strategy; the human resource potential is on the ground to be able to take on board any investment that has to come in. Of course we have to deal with the infrastructure requirements and they need to be assured that they will get the basic utilities like electricity, water supply and so on. That will give them some kind of confidence that will assure them of a happy stay. The country itself is so rich in terms of its human resource; friendliness; the landscape; the vegetation; the natural flora; the beauty; it's like a magnet. It's a matter of getting the first tourists then a second set; The word will spread out and more people will come. Tourism does not necessarily be limited to luxury terms. A lot of tourists want to see what they have not seen before; Sierra Leone has a lot of that to offer. They can go to the villages, enjoy the scenery, as long as they know that they can go there and come back, they can go camping for example to Banana Island; see the wild life.. There is quite a lot of things to showcase. The beauty of our country and its people should be properly projected to the outside world. Once this is done, the first set of people will take back to their homes and share their wonderful experiences they've had out here; then others will follow. Though it is a competitive world, we have an edge over a lot of them such as our natural scenery, which a country like The Gambia hasn't got. We have so much to offer. We are a strong competitor in the business.

Summit Communications: You are one of the biggest investors in this sector. The readers of the New Times may not expect to find a hotel such hotel Kimbima in this country, considering the negative perception they have in their minds. Could you communicate to our audience what your hotel has to offer?

Mr. Sam King: I want the people who are thinking of coming to invest in Sierra leone; people wishing to come on holidays; to come to seek business opportunities, to have a clear mind that this country is now secure and that Hotel Kimbima will provide whatever they would need from the high end of the market to the low. The hotel sits right on top of the Atlantic and a hotel like that if it's found in a place like London, a guest may have to pay about $2000 a night. At least you can come here and spend as little as $100. You can stand in the hotel and touch fishes in the water. Ships come right up to the harbour; In the hotel, there is quite a beautiful collection of furniture, got locally and some imported; ; providing quality accommodation. All the mattresses are imported from the United States that offer you comfortable sleep. We have about three bars which are open 24 hours. The kitchen is also open for 24 hours and we can prepare all types of food. I have a lot of development agenda on how to develop hotel Kimbima and we also have a games room for people who want to exercise and a swimming pool, which is quite big at 20meters by 10 meters. We have a car park, a hairdressing saloon. Presently we are hosting about 60% of the wedding receptions in the country. We have a nice conference hall on the fifth floor over looking the Atlantic Ocean and it provides space for 250 people. Common wealth Ministers' conference will take place here.

Summit Communications: I also understand that Kimbima is the name of your native village.

Mr. Sam King: Yes, Kimbima is the name of my native village where I was born and grew up as a child. A village that could only offer traditional activities such as subsistence farming, fishing and hunting. I was born there with great expectations to do exactly what my people were doing; but all of a sudden, I was able to get my formal education through the help of other people. So in that situation, my parents and my grand mother were very strong in terms of encouraging me. They did not go to school, but they very keen to see me go to school. But participating in the traditional work with them, made me very resolute, determined, dedicated, honest and I was full of ambition. The value there is what, to a very large extent, I've been able to copy of the positive traditional values. Those values are what are being translated in my everyday life. The entrepreneurship is all about dedication and strength, about your behaviour and your perception. Some of the things I learnt are very positive values such as hard work; respect for elders and dedication to work and persistence when you get things wrong by not giving up and trying again. These are all powerful values. My grand mother was a strong force behind, she died two years ago. She used to say- "don't let yourself be embarrassed in the midst of your colleagues and you have to stay on top. Don't allow events to overtake you. Be yourself. Don't allow anyone to dampen your courage; your spirit; so keep moving no matter how hard it is." These were some of the values I replicated through out my education. This advice has been constantly in my mind.

Summit Communications: You seem to have achieved a lot in your career particularly with the hotel Kimbima, which is such a big project for many Sierra Leonians in this country to look up at. What are the main challenges that you have overcome in order to make Kimbima such a success?

Mr. Sam King: By the time I started Kimbima, a lot of people had left the country; technical builders, engineers, etc. I had to cope with people who were not that much qualified because there was a brain drain. People left the country because they did not feel secure during the war. A project like this required experts, which was one constraint for me and a big challenge. The other thing is management; doing a project like this meant I had to pay somebody technically inclined to manage the project on my behalf. The project management would have cost me nearly a million dollars, and I didn't have that amount of money. I had to go to England to do one week advance course in project management that cost me about £400 a day; five days was £2000, but I got all the materials, the reference books I could consult in the future. When I came back I was able to put the plans together; the life circle of the project was determined; managed resources as we went along. That was one big challenge, which I also managed to overcome. Later on I had to abandon this business here; left it in the hands of some of my staff that I had trained in the past. On account of that, things went down drastically because I wasn't there. I wasn't there to give them the kind of leadership which I use to provide for them; but that was also overcome. The next thing that was quite crucial to the whole project was resources; funding. The cost of the project itself is $3.6 millions and of course its market value today is far more than that. During that time, my savings ran out; I even had to sell my car and borrow money locally from the local banks. The business plans I wrote was quite attractive and one of the local banks, the Rokel Commercial Bank, was quite happy and was willing to support it and finance it. That didn't come with relative; many times we hold meetings/consultations to get funding from them and the challenges of that were a denture because the interest rate is so huge to me, at 6% per annum which is a major threat to the business right now because $1.2 million that we borrowed; we are paying about $20,000 for service to get a loan, not touching the principal. That was also a financial challenge, which I am trying to get rid of; one option is to look for partnership; take an equity, I will use that to pay off the bank; so together we can be realizing dividends instead of working for the bank. So at present, we are actually working for the bank. We have been able to make quite a number of contacts, but we don't know yet when this all is going to fall in place. The other challenge was the infrastructure of course; we had to spend a lot of money on the electricity; we had a lot of money on the power lines, on running the cables for electricity power and the telephone. When you are working in a country that is just coming out of war, there is continued stress especially wherein the basic facilities were destroyed or non-existent. The government, to be fair with them, they are incapacitated; they don't have the resources to provide those services. They lack the resources. I can understand some of their constrains. Another problem is the bureaucratic processes especially when dealing with Ministers or Permanent Secretaries or Civil Servants who have to sign your papers. They do not have adequate means of transport and have to wait for public transport to bring them to work and by the time they come to office, it is so late and some of them are so poorly paid; they spend a whole lot of time thinking how to solve their domestic problems and are left with very little time to take care of their office duties; this is understandable because they have to survive.

Summit Communications: It is quite a challenging business, but yet you've really made a success of it…There is an increasing amount of choice for people coming to Sierra Leone in terms of the hotel industry. How do you convince the readers of the New Times that Kimbima is the hotel for them?

Mr. Sam King: Kimbima is very well secure just like the entire country. They need to know that the entire country is secure. Secondly, Hotel Kimbima has a fantastic hospitality outfit; the staff are well trained. There is excellent internal arrangement to keep our guests happy; we make sure they get whatever food they want. We have security patrolling the hotel 24 hours every day. There is no incident of theft, what ever little possession they have, are well taken care of ; also, we let them know that our cost is as low as from $60 to $100; so I want them to come and take advantage of that. So there is quite a lot I have to offer. There is transportation system which can be arranged as well.

Summit Communications: USA provides strong support for peace and stability in the country, providing about 25% of the cost of UNAMSIL; and is also the second largest trading partner in terns of import and export in Sierra Leone; Mr. Sam King, which are the areas that you feel that America's investment or expertise could best be used and are there any possibilities for the partnership with American businesses?

Mr. Sam King: That's a good question; I think United States are called friends of the West. I like the American spirit and the planning capabilities of the British. There are quite a lot of values they have which I have absorbed and continue to pursue. I know Sierra Leone would not be able to meet all there requirements at the moment. I would like the kind of people who would like to come to Sierra Leone to do business; let them come and help Sierra Leone, help some of the sectors. I would like them to come and invest in our telecommunications technology. These are the areas, if well developed in a country, will enhance the country's potentials be profitability. There are many satellite communications out there and I would want to encourage those guys out there to bring them over here; let the people communicate cheaply. It is now definitely enslaving Africans because for $5 when I buy the Washington card, I can call from U.S to Sierra Leone for 40 minutes. The same money in Sierra Leone would only allow you to speak for 5 minutes in the same country; so you know straight away that something is not right. So these people could come out here and make communications affordable and cheaper because Sierra Leone is so small as this is one of their 10 commandments that the country has to be big enough in size to make investment meaningful. But they can still come and in corporate Guinea, Liberia and Ghana which would serve as a communications platform. Also the power sector could be helped. If we are really to meet the millennium development goal, you cannot allow one part of the world to be in such a bad way. There are so many people out there to provide the technology and infrastructure, which we cannot provide; even if it means hand picking few local partners and in co-operating them in their management sector; but this is going to provide a magnet for other investors from other parts of the world to start looking at Africa as a whole as a place for investment; Telecommunications, Technology Transfer, etc., all these places that are coming up now, the South Asia enjoyed such opportunities, so if we can have the same opportunities to have those technologies, factories and industries, we will be willing to learn and be very committed. Also we should have good hotel recommendations in order to have 2000 tourists a week. There are no hotel recommendations. They can come in and partner with some of us. Sometime we just need a little bit of money, a little bit of technology to make greater things happen. I have contributed immensely to the development of my country.

Summit Communications: Let me introduce the next question with the words of Nelson Mandela; he said: at the point you climb a hill, you find there are many more hills to climb. Kimbima has travelled a long way in a short time. What's your next inspiration for your business enterprises and the rest of your country?

Mr. Sam King: My answer to that question is very short. As long as Sierra Leone continues to progress, the future for my business is fantastic. There is a huge opportunity as we are just coming from the back stage when there was no security, the economy and other Socio-economic factors and other political dynamics on the ground get better. But we do not necessarily have to rely on any politician to do anything. That's a big mistake for any entrepreneur to rely on politicians for the success of his business; your business will survive with political support but the support of politicians should be spread across board and not to a selected group of people and I believe in that; I believe in equal opportunity as things get better and as democracy takes its root. I am preparing in strategising my company to be able to map out those opportunities in the long term and I would be in the position to take full advantage when they get here. This is why I am constantly training my staff and the future for my business is very good regardless of the challenges that I am facing now. The challenge of Kimbima is a huge one in interest rate. But as an entrepreneur, I see it as normal and I'm faced with it everyday. Above all, it is a monument for generations yet unborn. People planning to come here for business should not focus on short-term situations; they must project their minds right ahead, beyond today and see electricity and infrastructure problems come to the past. If all the entrepreneurs come together and we pay our taxes, we will hold the politicians accountable for that if they don't do things, they are suppose to do. But at the present, it is the weak public sector carrying the weak private sector. So it is a very difficult situation. The sceptics in the U.S, U.K and Germany should come here as a strong part to support the local private sector and together we will be quite big, powerful, employ people and pay the taxes to government and government will in turn get stronger and they will provide the basic social amenities.

Summit Communications: I would like to give you the opportunity to send a message to the readers of New York Times; a message of friendship; a message of invitation.

Mr. Sam King: To all who are reading this report, you may not know where Sierra Leone is. Sierra Leone is a very tiny West African country but there are so much here that they will never read in any documents. It's only on a visit out here, will we convince them. I want to extend an invitation on behalf of the people of Sierra Leone; When you come, we assure you of our hospitality. We will put you in the hotel Kimbima and there are even other hotels in town. Come in here as investors and make sure you do the right thing. Have an open mind in dealing with Sierra Leoneans. Sierra Leone is worthwhile for investment despite being in the face of difficult times now; but those challenges could be eradicated if well meaning investors come to collaborate with local partners and wage war on poverty, which I believe, is a challenge for the entire world.