-Rigid safety measures
-Nondiscrimination policy
-No Immigration fraud
By Alusine Sesay
Since the commencement of our operations, we have never had any serious issues with our oversight agencies, including the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), the National Minerals Agency(NMA), the Ministry of Labour and above all Immigration. We have sufficient safety measures and all workers on site are mandated to put on their safety gears to prevent harzards. Allegation of polluting the Tonkolili River is false because we are engaged in dry mining without using water and all our operations do not have any serious implication on the river. The EPA has never come up with a report of any environmental harzards.There has not been any penalty levied against the company by no agency, “Leone Rock Compliance Manager, Samuel J.Kamara told journalists.
Human Resources Manager,Mohamed Daffae hits on the allegation of discrimination against Sierra Leonean employees in the company, stating that the company has an inclusive and diverse workforce from different countries with over 90% Sierra Leoneans.
“Discrimination of any type is strongly prohibited in our company. Respect for one another is one of our core values as a company. We provide regular trainings to abreast our workers on how to maintain inclusivity and mutual respect,” he said.
On the allegation of the company denying workers the right to form union,Daffae reacted that “We fully support our workers to form a union. For Instance, we have an office of the United Mines Workers Union right at our site of which our staff are members.
He noted that “We are committed to fair and legal employment procedures and the right of all workers is a priority to us. As a company, we remain dedicated to transparency and accountability.
On the allegation of Immigration fraud, Daffae noted that as a company they are fully compliant with the country’s immigration law “And we have not flouted any because the country’s Immigration Department would have found us wanting, but nothing of such has happened.
“As a company, we always do our best to maintain compliance with immigration law. We have stringent measures to ensure compliance,” he said.
Ansu Momoh, who is the Community Relations Manager, dilated on how the company relates with communities in it arears of operations, citing constructive and mutual beneficial relationship.
“We take our operations very seriously and we are committed to the social and economic development of the country. In the area of community development, we have our strategy as a company and the communities are left to decide on the projects they want to implement. We are the only company that pays one percent of CDA funds to the community,” he said.
He cited the provision of 105 five scholarship to university students in their areas of operations and other development projects they have implemented in their areas of operation.
On his part, the Deputy Admin Manager, Dauda Sillah, speaks to the fact that, should all the allegations peddled by a certain section of the media were true, then all government oversight institutions including EPA,NMA,Ministry of Labour and the Immigration Department should cease to exist because they are not doing their work effectively.
He said all the allegations against the company are not only baseless but also a calculated ploy to prevent meaningful investment in the country.
Meanwhile, Leone Rock is the biggest mining company in Sierra Leone, providing jobs for thousands of youth and helping to boost the country’s economy.
