By Septimus Senessie in Kono
Some residents of Saqueetown, one of the mining affected communities now relocated to a new site called Benghazi, have refused to occupy the new houses constructed by OCTEA Diamond Mining Koidu Ltd because they have cracks in them.
While some say they have no option but to move so as to escape the frequent rock blasting being carried out by the mining company, most of them expressed discomfort and dissatisfaction over the resettlement infrastructure because just seven months after they were completed, the houses have developed huge cracks in the walls and on the floors.
One of the residents, Aiah Bockarie of block AL 102 at Benghazi claimed that his “seven-month-old house has developed cracks”, adding that “about 40% of the houses constructed by OCTEA in October last year at Benghazi have developed cracks”.
He alleged that they had reported the matter to the contractors and OCTEA, to at least do some repairs on them, but that their complaints had not been taken seriously. He said he knew the houses were not going to last long because “you cannot construct a house in less than a month and expect that house to last long”, adding that the situation was made worse by the use of hollowed building blocks.
“Ten years after they were built, the houses we were evicted from and relocated here were far better than these new houses the company has constructed for us,” he complained.
Looking and sounding livid, 85-year-old Bondu Kaimbaima vowed she would not move into the two houses constructed by OCTEA because both had developed cracks in them.
Charles Mani of number AL 076 at Benghazi also told Politico that the houses had developed cracks because they were not given enough time after construction before they were roofed. He said he had moved into the house with his family because “I have no option”, adding “at our original place at Saqueetown we were not safe and secure amid the heavy and regular blasting by OCTEA”.
After six weeks trying to talk to the contractors said to be working for construction companies owned by some traditional leaders, local authorities and politicians, Politico could still not get a response regarding the allegations.
Meanwhile, at the resettlement camp, OCTEA's head of Community Development, Henry Vagg, himself a contractor, confirmed that cracks existed in some of the buildings. “I have seen the cracks in most of the newly constructed houses”he said and described them as “settlement cracks” which he said were mostly unavoidable in construction work.
He also blamed the cracks on the “topography of the soil”, saying “the soil at Benghazi is loose ball-up and that any structure you are building on such a soil care must be taken, otherwise they will develop cracks and or may not last long”. He said “we have engaged our construction companies to fill in those cracks”.
Asked whether their contractors were locals or international construction companies, Vagg answered: “they are Sierra Leoneans”.
(C) Politico 29/04/14
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One of the residents, Aiah Bockarie of block AL 102 at Benghazi claimed that his “seven- month-old house has developed cracks”, adding that “about 40% of the houses constructed by OCTEA in October last year at Benghazi have developed cracks”.
He alleged that they had reported the matter to the contractors and OCTEA, to at least do some repairs on them, but that their complaints had not been taken seriously. He said he knew the houses were not going to last long because “you cannot construct a house in less than a month and expect that house to last long”, adding that the situation was made worse by the use of hollowed building blocks.
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