By Joseph S. Margai in Freetown, Sierra Leone
Inhabitants of Magbanie village have expressed frustration over the manner in which Xing Wang Quarry, a company that operates very close to the village, has destroyed their houses, toilets, in addition to the psychological impact the local endure.
Magbanie village inhabitants are mostly farmers. The village is situated in Koya Chiefdom in the Port Loko District, northern Sierra Leone. The village was habitat to the West Side Boys, a group of rebels that caused so much destruction to peaceful civilians during the war years in Sierra Leone.
Speaking to Groove 106FM on Saturday, August 12th in the village, Abu Kamara, a resident of the village whose house and toilet have been destroyed as a result of the blasting of rocks by Xing Wang quarry operators, said Xing Wang started to operate in the village as sand miners. He said they were mining sand from the River Rokel, but their activities had adverse effect on the river that is the only source of drinking water for them.
According to Kamara, the pollution caused the country’s Environment Protection Agency (EPA) to stop the Company’s activities, but they have now resorted to doing quarry operation, blasting huge rocks that send resounding shock and sound across the village.
“All they have been doing is destroying our houses and toilets. The soil here is very soft and whenever they blast, the toilet’s structures are sunk into the hole. Walls of houses collapsed,” Kamara said. “Many people in this village have been rendered homeless,” he added.
He told our Correspondent that the villagers have registered their grievances to the operators of the quarry (a large, deep pit where stones are extracted) but no action has been taken. It is a Chinese-owned quarry.
“All of us here are voiceless, even though we are frustrated we don’t have the way to attack or stop them from operating. In fact, they blasted on 21st July, 2017 twice and the destruction caused by that blasting is immeasurable,” he claimed.
Hassan Sesay, another resident of Magbanie said the Chinese fetch water from the only stream in the village, but they have never rehabilitated the roads, or provide borehole water for them. He alleged that all the toilets that have been destroyed by the operators have been rebuilt by the villagers, claiming that the villagers, who are living in poverty stricken conditions, are forced to spend money on the maintenance of their destroyed houses and toilets.
Abu Kamara, Hassan Sesay and the other victims of the village are calling on Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the media and the government to heap pressure on the quarry operators to repair their damage houses.
The villagers alleged that they were not informed about the existence of Xing Wang Quarry until they started to experience big sounds from blasting and the resulting consequences of it.
However, John Stone, Site Manager of Xing Wang Quarry, denied allegations that they blasted rocks on July 21st, 2017, claiming that they stopped blasting two weeks before the 29th June, 2017, when they closed down operations because of the rains.
Even though the villagers claimed that they have reported the destruction caused by Xing Wang operations on their properties, but John Stone said nobody has reported anything of such to them.
“We would have investigated it and if the claims were true, we would have taken action by repairing their houses. Here, we work with a committee responsible to take these complains to us and we will act immediately,” Stone said.
He said anytime they want to do blasting, they will use a megaphone to notify the people 24 hours ahead so that they would not get shocked during blasting, claiming that some of the houses built in the village are not strong so any gravity, they will be affected grossly.
With regards their corporate social responsibilities, he revealed that they have been doling out scholarships to students, and the month of Ramadan, they provided assorted foodstuffs for the people, among other things.
Quizzed on what equipment they are using to blast rocks, the Chinese national refused to reveal it, but inside sources claimed that they are using dynamite to blast the rocks.
Paramount Chief of Koya Chiefdom, P.C Bai Kompa Bomboli II, said his administration will ensure that the quarry operators repair all broken houses.
He said the operators pay taxes of which 20% goes to him, 10% to the Member of Parliament of Constituency 57, 10% to the chiefdom administration and 40% to the landowners.
He however said even though they are paying their yearly taxes they should not blast and destroy people’s houses.
