In Sierra Leone, companies come in the name of doing investment especially in the mining sector but with a dastard plan of exploiting the people.
Some of these companies are given exploration license but with little or no monitoring are involved in actual mining while they refuse to pay royalties to the government and surface rent to the people.
This is what happened last Wednesday when the Parliamentary Committee on Mines visited the chiefdom based on complaints made by Algom Company, a mining company owning exploration company.
The People of the chiefdom loudly stated that they did not want Algom Mining Company in their area, explaining that they have written several letters to the Minister of Mines and NMA stating that they don’t want that company in their locality.
Section Chief Musa Nabieu explained that before Algom Company there was a company doing actual mining and that they used to give them surface rent but that algor has been doing exploration since they were given the license.
That Algom has no cordial relationship with the people in the chiefdom and that they have not done any single development in the chiefdom.
Another speaker explained that despite the fact that Algom is an exploration holder, there are other companies that are operating in another neighboring chiefdom with exploration license but are doing CRS for their people, pointing out what Seawright mining companies is doing in other neighboring chiefdoms.
Youth Leader of the chiefdom said that there are number of times the young people wanted to protest against Algom but he advised them to wait but that this time around, they don’t want Algom in the chiefdom and that they are willing to protest big time against them.
