By Mohamed Massaquoi

Minister of mineral resources Thursday disclosed that government would ensure that Koidu Holdings mining company compensate families of victims who lost their lives in the December riot against the company by property owners in Kono. 

It could be recalled that the confrontation led to the death of two protesters who were agitating for relocation, poor housing accommodation, and provision of basic facilities in the resettlement camp. 

Alhaji Abu Bakarr Jalloh said government was determined to implement recommendations of the commission setup to investigate the tragic incident in the diamond rich district.

He said the ban imposed on the company has been lifted and operations in the mines would commence soon, as the needs of the people are being addressed.

“After several meetings with stakeholders and community people with regards the incident, it was decided that we lift the ban imposed on Koidu Holdings,” he said.  

Jalloh said government has setup a committee to monitor the activities of the company in order to ensure that the company obey those recommendations.

He said there was disagreement among property owners with regards the housing facility adding that he has visited the site and that by all standards the resettlement camps were good for the people.

Jalloh observed that the government and the people of Sierra Leone were not benefiting enough from foreign mining companies operating in the country.

“We have decided that mining companies embark on infrastructure, because when Delco started operations they created facilities for themselves and at the end of their operations, there was nothing left in the communities they operated,” he said.

He said the government has decided to negotiate with mining companies so that good infrastructure including roads, electricity and other facilities were put in place, noting that mining companies were not non governmental organisations but capitalist investments.

Deputy minister of information and communications Mohamed Koroma commended the minister for his relentless efforts in ensuring that mining policies were properly put in place for the benefit of the people.