Be Grateful to Civil Society

Special Commentary

Be Grateful to Civil Society

By Theophilus S. Gbenda

Recent publications in the media following the launching of two important reports by the Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD) in collaboration with its associate platforms, the Campaign for Just Mining (CJM) and the Association of Journalists on Mining and Extractives (AJME) and other international partners including Street Kids International, have left much to be desired.

One of the reports titled: Dancing with the Chameleon- Mining Communities in Sierra Leone and the many faces of Frank Timis, did not seem to have gone down well with African Minerals Limited (AML), certain government officials and parliamentarians including the Hon. Chernor Maju Bah, who courtesy of a misplaced appointment happens to be the Chairman of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Mineral Resources and of course some colleagues in the media. The statement of Hon Bah during the launching sounded more like a PRO for African Minerals Limited rather than the people’s representative. In fact, it was difficult to distinguish between the Corporate Manager of AML and the MP. This shows why dangerous mining agreements are easily enacted in parliament.

What came out clearly in the said newspaper reports is that the local media, or a portion of it, has allowed itself so cheaply to be bought over by a mining company which by all indications, is not the best of companies any country that wants to develop should even consider doing business with.

Rather than critically analyzing the report in question, knowing fully well that persons engaged in civil society activities or in advocacy are professionals in their own right and will therefore not just sit down and come up with frivolous reports, the local media, in an out right sell-out game, condemned the report in its entirety and even made some derogatory and perhaps unfortunate remarks against key civil society activists this country is indebted to by virtue of their remarkable commitment to the cause of the suffering masses and the state as a whole...over the years.

One thing that also came out clearly is that none of the journalists with a critical view of the report, bothered to read through the lines so as to appreciate what is contained in it. They decided to treat it with reckless dismissal, even though in actual fact, they are stark novices when it comes to mining issues and the provisions of law regulating them.

The report in question is a very well researched piece, and is intended to provide a better understanding of the man to whom an area stretching up to 227 square kilometers containing over ten million tones of precious iron ore valued at millions of dollars, has been surrendered to…just like that. 

Over 80% of the information contained in the report was derived from the company’s own website, and therefore sounds ridiculous and suspicious that the company is critical of the report to an extent of dismissing it as baseless.

It should be noted that NMJD is currently undertaking series of investigations on the activities of mining companies operating in the country, and that the report at stake is just one in a series.

As expected, no company, including Koidu Holdings or African Minerals will be happy with a report that seeks to expose their odds. Little wonder why Mustapha Sesay, the Corporate Manager of African Minerals, was vexatious when given the podium at the launching of the said report, to make a comment.

In outright betrayal of his Sierra Leonean identity, Mustapha Sesay, who happens to be one of the opportune beneficiaries of what could best be referred to as a criminal network, based his vexation on the fact that the report failed to take onboard the good things the company has been doing since commencing operations in the country.

Of course the authors of the report are quite aware of some of the ‘benefits’ African Minerals has brought to the country, as was captured in the report at stake. They are equally aware of the countless thousands of dollars the company has been spending since inception to close the mouths of people whom they fear will hinder the smooth operations of the company. The fact of the matter however, is that the thrust of the research was to evaluate the credibility of the company and the major shareholder and Chief Executive Officer behind it. This is where Mustapha and his cohorts are missing the point altogether.

Because Mustapha knew that all what was said of his Frank Timis in the report represents nothing but the bare truth, he did not make an attempt to defend him. He therefore chose to play a publicity trick by delving on the supposed charity of the company to the country whose resources it is seeking to exploit on a win-lose basis.

It goes without saying that a three times convict for hard drugs, as Frank Timis is, can never be a clean entrepreneur. It should therefore be noted that African Minerals is not doing our country a favour. The fact that they are working towards bringing back the railway should not be a cause for celebration. Rather, consciousness should be raised that the company is thinking of doing that not because it is in love with our country, but because it thinks having a railway will make the transfer of our precious iron ore to a market centre, much easier and cost effective.

What perhaps most people, including some journalists don’t really understand is that the company has already calculated what is involved in bringing back the railway for example. I can bet with my life that the company would never have thought of embarking on such an expensive venture if there was no assurance of making a ten-fold or more profits. So then, one can easily state that the money being used to undertake the said venture is indirectly being derived from Sierra Leone. Let me also state that all the monies the company is spending are subject to specific deduction for tax purposes. So what is the fuss about?     

Article 19 (g) of the flawed agreement between the Government of Sierra Leone and the African Minerals Limited states among other things that “In addition to being able to fully claim the expenditure against chargeable income, the company may claim an additional deduction against chargeable income in an amount equal to 100% of the following expenditure:

·         Actual expenses incurred in respect of environment and social impact mitigation and/or environmental protection and/or restoration

·         Costs of educating and/or training those persons who are citizens of Sierra Leone and who are full time employees of the company or not full time employees but bonded to the company on completion of such education and/or training

·         The cost of any scholarships provided by the company to citizens of Sierra Leone

·         Cost of opening or making donation of funds, equipment or goods (including medicines and drugs) to any clinic, health facility or primary, secondary or tertiary education institution situated in Sierra Leone, whether solely for the benefit of the employees of the company or not.

·         The cost of acquiring prospecting, exploration or mining licenses is deductible in full in the year of acquisition

·         Expenditure on removing waste material during the mining process in order to access the ore body is fully deductible in the year incurred

·         Operating expenditure in relation to assets associated with the improvement of the community such as schools, clinics, hospitals, training centres and other similar assets is deductible in full

·         There shall be no limitation on the amount that is deductible for the cost of air tickets in respect of the company and its nominated contractors’ employees who leave Sierra Leone on their scheduled fly-in fly-out rostered breaks”.

With the foregoing, one can easily state that African Minerals is here to fry us in our own pot, using our own very oil. The company has everything to gain because it has the legal right of deducting all expenses accrued in the process of operating in our country.

Yet, our Minister of Mineral and Political Affairs, ‘Alhaji’ Alpha Kanu, boasts that half a loaf is better than nothing. The real danger is that AML seems to have bought scores and scores of good people already, and these so-called good people seems to have surrendered their wisdom and pride to a company no serious state would want to do business with.

This is where the civil society comes in.