By Ishmael Kindama Dumbuya
As required by law in Part IV section 23 and 24 of the Environment Protection Agency Act of 2008 as amended in 2010 in accordance with Sections 133 (2) (a) and 140 (1) (f) of the Mines and Minerals Act 2009, all mining companies in Sierra Leone are required to go through the process of obtaining an Environmental Impact Assessment license in other to operate in the country. Because of this, the Environmental Consulting Services during their public disclosure which is expected to pave the way for the Sierramin Bauxite Company to be issued with an Environmental Impact Assessment license by the Environment Protection Agency and a mining license by the National Mineral Agency has presented their research findings about the Company in both Maforki and Marampa Chiefdoms.
The public disclosure conducted in the Rogbaray Junction and Lunsar Towns were graced by many stakeholders including the community people in the two Chiefdoms, the Environment Protection Agency of Sierra Leone, the National Mineral Agency, Members of Parliament, and Paramount Chiefs of the Chiefdoms.
The head of the Environmental Consulting Services, Mr. Abdulai Conteh presented the voluminous document to the community and explains to them what he and his team have discovered including what are the needs of the communities and how the intervention of the Sierramin Bauxite Company will be. The community people including key stakeholders in the Chiefdom asked questions and made clarifications to issues that will bothering them especially on key issues such as employment provision and livelihood.
The community people here in Marampa and Maforki Chiefdoms welcomed the Sierramin Company in their communities and were very much eager to see the company kick start their bauxite mining activities especially when London Mining has ceased to operate in their Chiefdoms. After each of the presentations of the documents and research findings, the community people were asked to give their consent for the Sierramin to operate in their Chiefdoms; a question that received loud applause and consent from the communities.
According to the Consultant, Mr. Abdulai Conteh, there are more than thirty communities that lie within the concessional area of the Sierramin Bauxite Company in the Marampa and Maforki Chiefdoms. He noted that the ECS is not in position to make recommendations on behalf of the communities but the Community people made their own suggestions and highlighted their needs which the company must do for them as he stated in the Community Development Action Plan. The CDAP addresses issues of employment and key community needs such as water taps and community health centers and construction of feeder roads. Because there are also schools in these Chiefdoms, the company is not going to construct more schools for the communities but will help in providing scholarships for school going children in the chiefdoms. Part of the document also, there is an Environmental Management Plan which are plans the company must respond to in other to help protect the environment and the community.
With vast experiences on environmental issues and consulting in the country, the Environmental Consulting Services has been operating in the country for the past nine years engaged in environmental impact assessment, socio-economic, agriculture, forestry, trans-boundary projects and a host of others including land reclamation.
Commenting on the issue of employment, the Country Director for the Sierramin Bauxite Company, Sanusi K Brodsky said they are going to deal with such issue systematically where they employ as the need arises. “Basically it is a mining company and it is going to create lot of jobs in machine operators, and other areas.” he said. He added that in terms of employment when they start they are going to cater for the community people first before they start to look elsewhere.
When he was talking to Standard Times about reclaiming the mined out areas, Mr. Sanusi said after the mining and as part of their policies, they are going to work with the consultant and the community to ensure that they develop and reclaimed the holes they may dig in the communities and transform the places for agricultural purposes. As a company he said they will like to spend their monies mostly on girl child education in the communities so that they can empower them for the development of the country.
While speaking to the community people in Rogbaray and Lunsar, Mr. Sanusi said the stage they are now in the bauxite mining there is no company that had reach such stage which signifies that they are in the chiefdoms to do business and to stay.
Hon. Hassan Sheriff of Constituency 053 admonished the community people including the youths to show honesty and embrace the company in their chiefdom. According to him, they people are very lucky for their land to be chosen for mining especially when he said there are many communities with bauxite in the country.
On behalf of the Executive Chairperson, Board and Management of the Environment Protection agency of Sierra Leone, Kai Lebbie spoke of the importance of the environment to human beings adding that if there is no care for it there will be adverse effects on people. He stressed the main reason why the government of Sierra Leone established the environment protection Agency serving as a regulatory entity on the environment in the country. He said during mining operations, it is mostly the environment that is affected and that they as an Agency are serving to correct mistakes of environmental damage caused by mining companies. Earlier, he advised the community people to make their voices known and present their grievances or issues they wants to be addressed by the company if they are going to be issued with licenses to In his welcome statement in Rogbaray Town, the Paramount Chief of Maforki Chiefdom, PC Bai Adikalimera 2 reiterated the importance of the Sierramin in his Chiefdom stating the opportunities which it bring for his people. He said the public disclosure by the company signifies that the company is ready for business and they as a chiefdom should embrace them to operate efficiently in their communities.
PC Koblo Quie of Marampa Chiefdom serving as Chair of the disclosure meeting in Lunsar Town welcomed the management of the Sierramin Company and further admonished the youths in his Chiefdom to corporate accordingly with the company now that they are bringing employment in the chiefdom.
Like in Maforki Chiefdom, the public disclosure in Marampa was fully embraced by the community people who are very in anticipation to see a kick start of mining operations in their chiefdoms.
SIERRA LEONE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS 