By Newman Anthony Levey in Bo
A company seeking to mine in Valuania Chiefdom in Sierra Leone's southern Bo DIstrict, the Supreme Minerals Corporation (SL) Limited (SMCSL) on Thursday 21st November held a public meeting with community people to express its interest.
SMCSL, which currently holds a prospecting license, is seeking to mine gold in the chief in a concession area spanning 23 villages. Its base will be in Blama Village. And the meeting held at Mandu Court Barry, in Mandu, the chiefdom headquarters, was part of the process to secure the mining license. It also served as a platform to identify the potential environmental impact of the prospective mining activities on the communities within the concession area.
The chairman of the ceremony, who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Constituency 084, in which Valuania Chiefdom falls, Joseph Bash Kamara, praised the initiative by the company, noting that their type of development was the first in his constituency.
Hon. Kamara said because he was voted for by his people to seek their interest, he wasn’t interested in any personal gains, hence his support for SMCSL which plans to change the lives of his people. He then urged the people to cooperate with the company to realize its objective.
In his statement, the Director and Chief Executive Officer of SMCSL, Mallik Chennam, wondered why the people of Valuania Chiefdom were suffering despite been endowed with minerals. He noted that with his company, the people were sure of having what’s rightfully theirs.
He then catalogued what his company intends to do for the community, including the already completed construction of a school building which will accommodate three hundred pupils. He said they would pay the teachers who will be teaching in the school. The school, according to Chennam, is scheduled for official inauguration on 2nd December.
The company said it hopes to provide employment for 1000 people from the 23 villages across its concession area.
In the area of Heath, the SMCSL Director told the gathering that his company would take responsibility for any woman who delivers in the hospital it is building for the community, pledging Le2million each after they are discharged.
“We found out there is a lot of child death in our area of concession and we want to provide support for all pregnant women for the nine months of the gestation period and when the baby is delivered we help them perform the Baby Shower (naming ceremony) and pay for the medical bill,” Mr Chennam told Politico in an interview.
He said for the rest of the community, the company will ensure that nobody leaves their operational area to seek treatment elsewhere when their hospital is completed.
The company is building a brand new hospital, which it intends to equip with materials being imported from the United States. Mr Chennam said they intended to ship in even some of the experts who will man the health facility.
“By March we hope to get the hospital operational,” he said.
And for the elderly members of the community, aged 60 and above, the company will be giving them an unspecified amount of monthly allowance starting this January. The amount to be given to each elderly villager will be decided in conjunction with the community leaders, Chennam said.
He told the community meeting that his company was very transparent and accountable and that that is why they called the indigenes to a public discussion. But he noted that for all his promises to come to pass, the people will also need to work amicably with the company, for both their benefits.
But while all the promises of the company are meant for the company’s concession area, which spans 23 villages, some of the community leaders at the meeting appealed for them to be extended to elsewhere in the larger chiefdom.
Mr Chennam told Politico that while he understood the concerns of the villagers, the reality is that they couldn’t possibly provide for that vast population of about 150 villages. But he said they were trying to expand to other communities and that in due course the rest of the chiefdom could benefit from such expansion.
Supreme Mining Corporation, according to Chennam, was founded in South Africa, where it is currently headquartered in Johannesburg.
Representing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the Mandu meeting, Joseph S. Turay expressed appreciation for SMCSL for going through the right processes to operate. He said they were happy to hear such development associated with the company.
Turay added that they would be monitoring developments in the chiefdom and would request information from the company in this regard. He also called on community stakeholders to help the agency prosecute those who engage in illegal mining.
Maisarrah Kallon of the National Minerals Agency (NMA) also praised the company for all its efforts despite only holding a prospecting licence. She said if they could do all what they have done with just a prospecting licence, they could do more when they secure a mining license.
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