By Mabinty M. Kamara
Residents of the popular fishing community of Tombo in the outskirts of Freetown have expressed interest in the US$ 55 million grant from the Chinese government for the establishment of a fish harbour in Sierra Leone.
The government’s identified 252 acres of land for the project has met community resistance at the Black Johnson village along the Freetown Peninsula, an area covered with forests and other ecological features. But the community has, since the government identification of the area expressed concern over the environmental hazards accompanying such a venture including destruction to touristic attractions and the negative impact that might have on their community.
According to a press statement by the Land for Life Consortium, a land rights advocacy group, the artisanal fishermen of Tombo community are willing to provide land for the project at a reduced cost to the government. The group quoted the fishermen as saying that the project might be a white elephant project if taken to Black Johnson. “They have expressed that taking the fishing project away from Tombo is equivalent to undermining the social economic and cultural and traditional values of Tombo,” the statement reads in part.
The advocacy group noted that they are not aware of any feasibility study conducted by the government in respect of the said project, “neither has there been any Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessment (ESHIA) report disclosed by the government.”
“Thus we are gravely concerned that, of all the numerous sites available along the coast across the country, the government would choose a non-fishing community and put at risk the only ecotourism site left along the Freetown-penisula coast,” it reads.
It added that in as much as they are aware of the economic viability of the facility to the country’s development, they called on the government to roll out the project within the ambit of the national laws and international standards as elaborated in the United Nation’s Voluntary Guidelines for the Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forestry (VGGT), to which the government is a signatory.
Another advocacy group Namati Sierra Leone and the Institute for Legal Research and Advocacy for Justice (ILRAJ) has in a press release expressed similar concerns about the continued lack of transparency and compliance with national laws by the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) on the project implementation.
The group noted that the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) and the Minister of Lands, Housing, and Country Planning (MLHCP) on Monday, 6th September 2021 visited the Black Johnson village where they told village leaders, residents, landowners, and civil society organisation representatives that the fish harbour project at Black Johnson was moving forward despite the many concerns raised.
“As non-governmental organisations working on the rule of law, public policy research, land rights and environmental justice, we are deeply disappointed that without an Environmental, Social, and Health Impact Assessment having been completed in line with the Environmental Protection Agency Act 2008, the GoSL has drawn conclusions about the project and its potential impacts, while publicly stating those unsupported conclusions as facts,” the statement reads.
Copyright © 2021 Politico Online (15/09/21)
