By Allieu S. Tunkara
Anxious about seeing development and expansion of facilities, land owners in Pepel town in PortLoko district, say they need more than one company in the use of the port and rail in their community. The new company, Arise Integrated Industrial Platform (Arise IIP) is a sure alternative to the old company, Leone Rock or Kingho which has been operating there.
The land owners’ stance is directly opposed to government’s move in granting monopoly to Kingho aka Leone Rock over the use of Pepel port and rail. The resistance to the monopoly comes at a time government has announced its intention to hand over the 192-mile rail lying between Ferengbeya and Pepel in Tonkolili and PortLoko districts respectively.
The company alone is also entitled to the port in Pepel at the expense of other mining companies. It was a move that does not go down well with land owners who do not want to see only one company dominating the road facilities.
Speaking to this press via mobile phone, public relations officer for the land owners, Soka Kamara maintains his stance that no one company operates in their community.
“We do not need one company in our community as such move will lead to complacency. In as much we need Leone Rock, we also need other mining companies so that there can be competition,” Kamara told Nightwatch.
The land owners spokesman further informed this press that they needed development in their community and Kingho alone could not meet such aspirations. The company, according to Kamara, falls short of the required corporate assistance the community badly needs.
“The main hospital does not have an ambulance, the roads are bad and the locals still struggling for transportation in the community,” the land owners spokesman expressed his frustration.
Investigation recently conducted by this press confirmed the road’s deadly nature as vehicles and motor cycles got trapped in the mud, and passengers could spend hours to reach their destinations. Kingho, despite three years of full-scale mining, has not done enough to solve the road problem.
As such challenges linger in Kingho’s areas of operation, the people appear to have lost hope in the company. Signs that Kingho will overcome the challenges are yet to appear. On the ground, Leone Rock faces litany of allegations.
The land owners still express doubt about Leone Rock’s huge support to entities out of the mining community but doing less in its areas of operation. Sponsorship of the country’s premier league is cited as a bright example.
“How can Kingho support the national league while Pepel community gets no assistance from the company to host a league,” a disgruntled land owner complained.
It is not bad to support the premier league, he says, but Pepel should receive more of the company’s assistance since charity begins at home. Going deep down to the grassroot, Leone Rock’s community relations seems to have hit the rock as land owners say they are not consulted on major community development issues especially employment opportunities.
Most times, according to the land owners, the company hold discussions with the chiefs and decisions taken are closely guarded secrets. They are worried and jittery about the opacity that surrounded Leone Rock’s discussions with the local authorities.
Such is the danger of monopoly, and those opposing such moves lose the authorities’ favour as their names will be deleted in the list of those who should be given jobs.
In spite of the challenges, the land owners seem to be looking to the future with hope as they call on the company to come to them and not only stop to the chiefs. They wanted meetings that have to do with development be held in the open for transparency and accountability.
This press made attempt to contact an official of Leone Rock Company to get their own side but ended in failure.
However, friction between land owners and chiefs are not new to the mining sector as the latter who take pride in the ‘custodians-of-land’ title see themselves as real owners of the land.
This title, according to the local authorities, place them in a privileged position of getting more benefits than the actual land owners. Their status is further enhanced by Sierra Leone’s Mines and Mineral Act, 2009 which confers a higher percentage of proceeds from the use of the land.
On the other hand, the land owners has an unchallenged right as the land belongs to them, and must get higher benefit than the local authorities. The fight goes on with Pepel community bracing up to take it to a different level.
The seeming bad blood between the land owners and Leone Rock started almost a week ago when the Mines Minister, Julius Mattai announced that the rail and port facilities had been handed over to Leone Rock at the expense of Arise IIP.
Leone Rock took over management of port and rail from the defunct Iron Ore miner, Shandong following closure of operations in September, 2020 at the peak of Covid-19. In spite of few economic challenges, Kingho got a foothold in the mining sector exploiting and exporting Iron Ore from Ferengbeya to the outside world using the Pepel rail and port.
More than 1, 000 youth, according to a government official at the Information Ministry, are currently employed by Kingho. The employment figure, the official said, would roll as more hands are sure to come to the Kingho site in the near future.
Despite years of operation, locals however say they have not seen much on the ground hence the need for other companies to ensure competition in the mining industry.
With presence of other mining companies in the community, meaningful aid would be realised with the people on the profit side. In what appears a cut-throat race to hold the forte, Leone Rock heightened its corporate philanthropy quite lately sponsoring Sierra Leone’s premier league and offering a bus to Fourah Bay College.
Although Kingho appears to have shown vested interest in Sierra Leone’s mining sector, the African-based company, Arise IIP too recently expressed interest in the acquisition of rail and port through lease assuring government of getting better dividend.
Arise IIP provides agricultural eco-systems thus adding value to agricultural produce before exporting. It also does the same for minerals.
The company recently went into agreement with government for the acquisition of 1, 800 hectares of land in Koya Community also in PortLoko district several kilometres away from Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown. The request for the Koya land has been granted by government, but without the port and the rail. Work at the Koya land is ongoing following the launch of Arise IIP in April, this year by President Julius Maada Bio.
A recent visit to the site shows that work is being done but apparently not to the satisfaction of government and local stakeholders. More than 1, 000 youth have also taken up jobs with US$410m already vested in the first phase.
More money is sure to be poured into the second and third phases with 34, 000 workers to be employed when all phases shall have been completed, Construction Manager, Santosh Garhone says.
But, with the port and rail taken over by Leone Rock, prospect for Arise IIP staying Sierra Leone has been whittled down. Situation, at this moment, is critical as the land owners need Arise IIP sharing ownership of rail and port with Kingho.
But, government’s recent decision says otherwise raising the question who actually owns the land?