By Bobor Dan Kamara
Report states that FG Gold Mining Company has been operating in Sierra Leone for the past six years on exploration stage (prospecting), which shields them from paying export taxes to the National Revenue Authority (NRA) and the 1% Community Development Fund (CDF) for the development of its host communities and to improve the lives of the people.
According to the Community Development Agreement, there is no agreed timeframe as to when FG Gold Mining will embark on full-scale operation.
Such bad precedence is a hindrance to the contribution of the mining sector to the country’s GDP.
The large-scale mining company has been in the spotlight for ill treatment of some of its local workers, and by extension impoverishing its host communities in Valunia and Kunikie in Bo and Tonkolili districts respectively.
A worker of the said company revealed that one of his colleagues sustained major injury while working at the gold site. He was later abandoned by the company without any benefit.
This troubling revelation poses questions about the working conditions at one of Africa’s largest gold development projects.
Efforts to get their own side of the story have proven futile.
More details will be featured in our next publication.
