Sierra Leone's President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah has announced sweeping changes to his government after winning a new term in the first election for a decade.

The new government now has the task of trying to stabilise the country after a civil war that has killed some 200,000 people.

The new finance minister Joseph Dauda takes up his post at a critical time, as the country tries to rebuild its economy and reduce its dependency on international aid.

Sierra Leone was ranked the world's worst place to live in a United Nations report last year.

Government priorities

Joe Dembe, who has returned to Sierra Leone to set up an investment bank called TY Capital after years as a fund manager in London, told the BBC's World Business Report the government wanted to encourage the private sector in domestic and international economic policy.

"The president's campaign focussed on two points," he said.

"He would like to concentrate on agriculture in this term and the provision of food, and also to focus on provision of employment."

Diamonds

One cause of the civil war which began in 1991 was the infighting over diamond rights.

The world's largest uncut diamond was found in Sierra Leone

The government is now expected to try and restore order to the way in which diamonds are mined and sold.

"The government does appear to be revisiting that position - it has recently issued a number of notices to mining companies to comply with their obligations under leases," Mr Dembe said.

"The impression that one gets is that the government is seeking to bring the whole sector back into some form of control by reducing the number of companies in operation."

"It's hard to see the government doing a full roll back to a nationalised position."

'Limitless potential'

Mr Dembe said it was hard to see the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank being supportive of such a measure.

But he said he believed that the government would encourage consolidation in the diamond industry.

"Maybe three or four very large companies as opposed to hundreds of little tiny ones."

Sierra Leone has access to mineral and agricultural resources.

It also has the third largest natural harbour in the world, and has the potential to be a major trans-shipment hub.

Mr Dembe insisted: "The country's potential is limitless."