Diamond miner, Sierra Diamonds Newfield Resources, operating in the Lower Bambara Chiefdom in Kenema District has paid surface rent for 2020 to the tune of Le594,062,500 to the people of Lower Bambara Chiefdom at the Court Barry in Panguma Town. In his welcome address, the Paramount Chief of Lower Bambara Chiefdom, PC Alimamy Moiwa Farma V, called on his subjects to be law abiding at all times and to always channel their grievances through the appropriate channels for redress instead of taking the law into their hands.
He appealed to his subjects to strive for development of the chiefdom.
The PC also thanked the company for their development strides in the chiefdom and district citing the road network from Panguma and Tongo Field to Kenema. He said it used to take over an hour to cover the 26 mile distance from Panguma and Tongo Field to Kenema because of the poor road condition, “but now even when we are in the rainy season, it takes someone less than one hour because of the intervention of the company”.
PC Alimamy Moiwa Farma V further thanked the company for their numerous interventions and appealed to them to always continue doing so. In his statement, the representative from the National Minerals Agency (NMA) Freetown, Henry Kamara, preached about the COVID 19 messages to his audience, and thanked the company for meeting their obligations during this COVID-19 era.
He said surface rent is different from corporate social responsibility, and the money is only for landowners for use of their lands, and he called on all to maintain the peace. The Mineral Resources Manager, Sierra Diamonds Newfield Resources, Rowan Carr, confirmed the company’s commitment to the people of Lower Bambara despite the difficulties the company is going through during the COVID-19 fight.
The Community Affairs Manager, Tommy Kaiza Koker, said because Sierra Diamonds Newfield Resources is a responsible company they always keep to their obligations. He thanked the people of Lower Bambara for their patience, adding that the delay in payment was due to the global COVID-19 fight.
Koker reiterated that the company is giving out Le594,062,500 as surface rent for 2020, which amount is tax free, and called on all to continue maintaining the good relationship between the company and all stakeholders.