VIllagers demonstrate against Chinese company

Over 7,000 Sierra Leoneans are said to be suffering in the hands of a Chinese company in three villages in Tane Chiefdom in the northern Tonkolili district of Sierra Leone. Residents of Maholi, Mafarah and Malakoh say a Chinese mining company, China Kingho has polluted their water, damaged their roads with their heavy machinery, illegally felled their economically viable tress, and is drilling in their land without the knowledge of and agreement with land owners. Hundreds of youth and the elderly held a peaceful demonstration on Saturday 14 September at Maholi village, where land owners told Kingho to cease operations immediately. They blocked their dredge from moving anywhere beyond where it was parked forcing the company to agree to suspend operations. Kingho, which operates in Kafe Simbeyah and Tane Chiefdoms some 14 miles from the district headquarters of Magburaka, is alleged to have been operating illegally in the Tane Chiefdom for over six months without an agreement with land owners. According to land owners of the three affected communities, since the company went to their communities they had never engaged them on the content of their operations or gone into any agreements with them. This, according to the locals, is a violation of their rights and disrespectful to them as land owners and traditional authorities. Section chief of Maholi, Pa Karim Sesay told Politico that in May this year China Kingho went to their communities and asked for land to build their camp on the pretext that upon completion of building their sites the company would engage them on their operations. He said that all they saw later was that the company brought in heavy-duty drilling machines and trucks into their communities and started drilling without first engaging them. Pa Karim said that neither the government nor the company had held any meetings with them or negotiated with them. He said the company had damaged their roads and drinkable water sources as a result of their mining activity on their hills. “When we first started experiencing the changing nature of our water we drew the attention of our Paramount Chief and other stakeholders including the company” he said, adding that the paramount chief collected the water sample and promised to take it to Freetown. “Since then we have not heard any serious response from the company or our chief” he went on. He lamented that their only source of drinking water now was God through the rains. “CHINA Kingho is here to kill us and inherit our lands” the section chief chided. Issa Fornah a youth from Mafarah described the activities of Kingho as “criminal” for entering their communities without any concrete agreements with them as land owners alleging that they had “damaged their culture, vegetation and roads”. He alleged that the Chinese had polluted their stream which runs from the hills. Issa said the movement and sound of the company machines had damaged their mud houses. He said the company had even threatened them that they were sent to operate in their area by President Ernest Bai Koroma and that there was nothing else they could do or say to the locals. Ibrahim Kamara, a dark-complexioned energetic young man employed by the company told Politico that since they started working for the company to drill on the hills, they had not been given any protective gears like helmets, safety boots or even gloves. He said they worked 12 hours for “only Le 15,000”, describing their work with China Kingho as “hard labour”. He said that during the course of their work if any mistake was made they were hit heavily with sticks by the Chinese. He said they had repeatedly reported the matter to the Paramount Chief who had allegedly failed to take action. Ibrahim, like many other young labourers working with Kingho, is not working at present because he had sustained deep cuts to the left of his head while working on one of the hills. He said that since he received treatment at a clinic in Magburaka there had been no follow-up treatment or any other action. He cried pains on his head. Abdul Kadiru Kaikai, the National Director General of a civil society group, The Future Builders Organisation, said that he had been following the issue between land owners in Tane chiefdom and China Kingho Mining Company. He told Politico that they had received a lot of letters from affected locals against the company expressing dissatisfaction over their operations. He said that from all indications the people were not ready to work with or accept China Kingho in their communities. Abdul said that as a civil society group they had no idea of any government agreement with China Kingho which he said was a major setback to the country alleging that Kingho had been asked out of Ghana, Guinea, DR Congo among other countries as a result of their manner of operations. The Paramount Chief of Tane Chiefdom Bai Kafari Sam Koray Haja Mama II when contacted by Politico declined to comment. He even threatened the journalist saying he had “no right” to enter his chiefdom without his knowledge or even talking to the people without first seeking his permission. The Paramount Chief was ensconced in the front seat of the company’s Toyota vehicle on their way to Maholi village with two Chinese nationals, a police constable and ten fierce-looking young men on the trailing truck. The company also declined to comment. (C) Politico 17/09/13