By Kemo Cham
On one Friday evening in June, a young boy, aided by a relative, limped into the Imperi Community Health Center, southern Sierra Leone. The patient had high fever and was coughing. He complained of abdominal pain, all of which are among the most common signs and symptoms of Covid-19.
Unfortunately for him, it was too late. He died moments after his arrival, right at the entrance of the hospital.
“We didn’t even touch him,” says Kenawova Moriba, Community Health Officer (CHO) in charge of the center. For Moriba and his 15 member staff, that was a narrow escape.
“We would have been quarantined again,” he says, recalling a previous incident a few weeks earlier that led to most of the staff been confined to their quarters at the back of the hospital for 14 days, after another patient who had visited the facility tested positive for Covid-19.
The swab result for the boy was yet to be released as at the time of this interview. But according to Moriba, both cases represented a worryingly growing number of cases of late arrival to the hospital. He says people had chosen to stay away from the health center because of fear that they would be told that they had Covid-19.
“And when it worsens, it’s usually too late to save them,” Moriba says, noting that they the health workers were also reluctant to take action at such a stage because of lack of infection prevention control gears or Personal Protective Equipment.
The Imperi Community Health Center, a sizable facility situated in the outskirts of Moriba Town, serves about a dozen communities within Rutile – a major mining area that unites two neighboring districts - Moyamba and Bonthe. These communities comprise a population of about 20, 000 people, according to the local health authorities.
The center is barely managing to provide service to the huge population, says Moriba. Its ward is spacious enough to accommodate only two beds, which the CHO says they use only for observation. Both men and women patients are mixed, with no privacy, he points out.
When a case is complicated for the hospital staff to handle, it is referred to Matru Jong, the district headquarter town, which is 17 miles away.
Even during pre-Covid-19 days, it was a daunting task for Moriba and his team. Now with Covid-19, he says, it was getting tougher. The lone ambulance which they shared with eight other health facilities within the chiefdom was redeployed to Matru for the use of the District Covid-19 Emergency Response Center (DICOVERC). They now have to call for an ambulance from Gbangbatoke, nine miles away in neighboring Moyamba District, whenever they need one.
Moriba says because of the high dependency on the Gbangbatoke-based ambulance, it’s sometimes a long and risky wait for the patients. Within the last two months the hospital registered two deaths due to this arrangement. The latest occurred just days before this interview in June. A pregnant woman with a complicated case was referred to Matru. The ambulance couldn’t come on time. She bled to death in waiting.
This state of affairs is just a partial picture of how the local authorities are strenuously responding to the Covid-19 pandemic amidst limited available resources.
Bonthe and Moyamba are among the most affected of the 16 districts across Sierra Leone as at July 13, 2020. So, for Moriba and his team, there is constant fear working without adequate protection and the needed resources in such an environment.
“Look at the facemask we use,” he says, pointing to the locally made cloth facemask he and his colleagues had on.
“Even this was provided by nongovernmental organizations like World Vision,” he says.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that health workers, who are the most vulnerable to infection in the healthcare setting, use a special medical facemask made to give maximum protection.
Frustration and anger
Rutile is home to one of the world’s largest Rutile miner - Sierra Rutile Limited. The Australian owned company’s domineering effect on the area is illustrated by its dominant presence in Moriba Town and surrounding communities.
Despite its somewhat positive impact on the local economy, the environmental implications of its operations on the people’s livelihoods make the company a constant subject of discussion, often evoking frustration and anger among its hosts. This frustration is summed up by local trader, Abdulai Kamara.
“We have no hope in them,” Kamara, who is the chairman of the Moriba Town Market, says.
“They come here only to enrich themselves and they don’t care about us,” he adds, as he explained the expectations of the people from their mineral wealth, which he says they have been deprived of for over three decades.
Sierra Rutile’s concession in the country covers five chiefdoms in the two districts: Imperi and Jong chiefdoms in Bonthe; Lower Banta, Upper Banta, and Bagruwa chiefdoms in Moyamba.
Imperi is the most important among them as it hosts the company’s main mine sites, and it, therefore, is also the most affected both in terms of environmental destruction and human rights issues arising from the miner’s activities. But under its new management, the company stated in their 2018 Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessment report that they had always undertaken “human rights risk and impact assessments”.
Moriba Town and nearby Mogbwemo are the two largest and most prominent towns in the Imperi Chiefdom. And between them Moriba Town is the most important, being host to the main business center in Rutile.
During the day time, Rutile’s huge, unpaved roads are its hallmark. In the dry season, they are also a source of major discomfort, thanks to the constant dust in the air, partly caused by the massive machinery of the company. This, residents have claimed, is also responsible for huge health implications for them.
During the raining season, the discomfort emanates from the muddy nature of the roads which are dotted with numerous potholes. At night, the town’s little beauty is lost in the constant pitch darkness because of the lack of electricity. Neither Bonthe nor Moyamba is connected to the national greed. And there is no pipe-borne water in any of the twin districts. A handful of buildings, mainly within the business area, have light, sourced from privately run generators, which add to the chaos in the town through noise pollution.
Giant electricity poles pass through the main highway linking Moriba Town and Mogbwemo, onto a remote plush residential estate up the hill – it is home to foreign expatriates working for the company. The estate, Mobimbo, is completely isolated from the local communities through several layers of security, so that one has to have a clearance to pass through.
Across Rutile several water bodies snake through in a web of lakes; these are mined-out pits, the result of over three decades of mining. These artificial lakes, as the locals call them, have cost many lives due to drowning. They are also breeding ground for mosquitos, one of the reasons Malaria is the most prevalent sickness in the community, according to the health center’s record.
Neither Bonthe nor Moyamba is connected to the national electricity greed. And there is no pipe-borne water in any of the twin districts. A handful of buildings, mainly within the business area, have light, sourced from privately run generators, which add to the chaos in the town through noise pollution.
Giant electricity poles pass through the main highway linking Moriba Town and Mogbwemo, onto a remote plush residential estate up the hill. It is home to foreign expatriates working for the company. The estate, Mobimbo, is completely isolated from the local communities through several layers of security, so that one has to have a clearance to pass through.
Across Rutile, the township, several water bodies snake through in a web of lakes. These are mined-out pits, the result of over three decades of mining. These artificial lakes, as the locals call them, have cost many lives due to drowning. They are also breeding ground for mosquitos, one of the reasons Malaria is the most prevalent sickness in the community, according to the health center’s record.
Corporate Social Responsibilities
Against the background of these environmental concerns, Sierra Rutile has come under constant criticism for its role in the said impoverishment of the local population. But the company has always defended itself against claims of lack of goodwill, arguing that it has always fulfilled its obligations to the government and people of Sierra Leone. It considers itself a good corporate citizen and an investor who is paying its taxes and royalties, in addition to meeting its many corporate social responsibilities.
In the wake of Covid-19, the company claims it spent over US$800,000 in three months, between March and May, in the five chiefdoms in its operational areas. This money, it says, excludes support it had provided through its community affairs department.
According to a document the company shared with Politico, as of May 31, 2020, it had spent US$870, 268 on the Covid-19 response. The breakdown indicates that the money went into procuring Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs), medical equipment, traveling and other unspecified items.
A separate document highlights the company’s support to the community, provided to a total of 10 community health centers. The consignment include surgical masks, face shields, coveralls, surgical gowns, aprons, gloves, soap, sanitizers, buckets and body bags. This is in addition to over 3000 facemasks and hand washing materials, among others, the company said it provided to the public.
Nonetheless, on the ground in the community, anger towards the company is in no short supply.
At the Moriba Town Market, the mention of Sierra Rutile provoked an outburst of murmur among the mainly female traders who felt reluctant to listen to activists who had gone to ascertain claims by the company that it had distributed Infection Prevention Control materials or Personal Protective Equipment to them. Those who had time to speak eventually denied knowledge of any donation of facemasks to them by the company.
At the Moriba Town Health Center, CHO Moriba recalls receiving only two Veronica Buckets and soap from the company.
Even among district authorities, there is a sense of displeasure towards the company. And officials made no efforts to hide their discontent. At the Bonthe DICOVERC office, officials were particularly astounded by the claim that the company had spent over US$800, 000 on its response to Covid-19.
One official said it could either have been quantified based on some standard unknown to them, or that the company might have invested it in their operations.
Sierra Rutile did not give specific details of how the US$870, 268 was spent, despite a request by Politico.
In any case, the DICOVERC officials said as at that moment, not a single cash had exchanged hands between them and the company. The only thing close to that was a cheque the company prepared for four radio stations as payment for airtime for the DICOVERC to engage the local population as part of its Covid-19 social mobilization. A total of seven radio stations in the two districts benefitted from that scheme, totaling Le88million.
Moses J. Probyn, Bonthe District Council Chairman, observed that Sierra Rutile must have engaged in the distribution of facemasks and other IPC materials to the public without the involvement of the local authorities for oversight. And this, he noted, is an indication of the flawed nature of the company’s cooperation with the district Covid response.
“I am personally not impressed with the kind of support they have given,” Mr Problyn told a meeting with civil society organizations in his office in Matru.
Sierra Rutile operates a standard health center in the area which is only accessed by its staff and their closed relatives. In the wake of Covid-19, the company also established an eight-bed treatment center and a 32-room quarantine facility.
District Medical Officer, Dr Prince Masuba, inspected and certified the treatment and quarantine facilities, which he said were housed in repurposed buildings. He suggested that the health center and the health facility could be where the company spent the amount it claimed to have expended in the Covid-19 fight.
Dr Masuba also recalled asking company officials if community people who fell ill with Covid-19 could be admitted in the facility and the company declining.
The DICOVERC said it was still waiting for a response from the company to a handful of requests they had forwarded for support to the Covid-19 response effort, including for quarantine and treatment, as well as the lone ferry linking the district headquarters town to the rest of the district.
DICOVERC limitations
As part of its support to the Covid-19 response, Sierra Rutile deploys one of its Toyota Hilux Pick-up vehicle for the use of the Bonthe DICOVERC, for which it also provides a driver and fully fuels it on a daily basis.
The DICOVERC says it uses the vehicle for Surveillance and contact tracing. But officials say the vehicle is only available to them for about eight hours (8am to 4pm), which they say is not enough for their vehicle needs. They noted that when there was an emergency at odd hours, they could hardly respond to it, due to the unavailability of the vehicle.
The DICOVERC has a second vehicle, which was provided by the National Covid-19 Emergency Response Center (NACOVERC), and is being used for operations, including transportation of test samples and other emergencies.
Another limitation to the Rutile loaned vehicle is that its movement is restricted to only two chiefdoms: Jong and Imperi. It also has a limited speed limit imposed by the company, which, as one official explains, means that when they have an emergency that require their presence at a particular place in a hurry, it’s always difficult for them to get there in time.
“They gave us the vehicle and held on to the rope,” remarked Peter Abraham, Executive Secretary of the Bonthe DICOVERC. The DICOVERC officials also said that the radio airtime paid for by the company was grossly insufficient. While the company said it paid for three months airtime, the DICOVERC said they only paid for 24 hours, which they used indiscriminately within two month (May and June). They said they had to appeal for additional free airtime from the radio stations.
Musa Kamara, Station Manager of Imperi Radio, one of the beneficiary stations of the project, confirmed providing additional airtime for free to the DICOVERC.
Amara Brima, Manager of Social Mobilization at the Bonthe DICOVERC, says they still need airtime to engage the population.
“In fact we need it more now after the easing of restrictions on Covid-19 measures, because we need to get the people to understand that easing of the restriction doesn’t mean end of the pandemic,” says Mr Brima. He adds that with the raining season, the need for vehicle to support social mobilization has also become even more paramount.
A spokesman for Sierra Rutile says while the company is aware of its Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) and which it has been working tirelessly to fulfill, it could not take the responsibility of the government in terms of providing services to its citizens.
Osman Lahai, Community Affairs Manager of the company, told a meeting with members of the National Advocacy Coalition on Extractives (NACE) and officials from the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources in Rutile that their sense of commitment to their CSR guided their focus on the five chiefdoms they operate in.
Lahai says in addition to the support they have already provided, the company was studying more requests for support from the local and DICOVERC authorities, notably a request to repair the only ferry that links Rutile to Mattru.
The ferry, which was reported to be in bad shape, is very important in the response efforts in that all test samples collected in Rutile and other parts of the districts are taken to Mattru for testing. If it goes out of service, it will impact the response efforts severely.
Sierra Rutile also confirmed receiving requests to help in support of quarantine homes and the treatment center, among others.
But according to Lahai, all of this is happening against the backdrop of difficulties occasioned by the pandemic for the company’s operations. He said they have had to review their mode of operations so that work would continue unhindered.
Lahai said the company had to ask some of its staff to stay home even though they continued to receive their salaries untouched.
“Our goal is to keep operating and the only way to ensure that is to take care of our social responsibilities,” he said.
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles on mining communities and local perception of corporate investment in local development. The report was done in collaboration with the National Advocacy Coalition on Extractives (NACE-SL). NACE is a civil society organization and key member of the Multi-Stakeholder Group, the governing body of the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative in Sierra Leone, that is responsible for developing policies and implementing programmes and activities and to promote transparency and accountability in the management of its minerals, oil and gas sectors.
Copyright (c) 2020 Politico Online
