May 16, 2022 (dragged)

Monday, May 16, 2022 Frontpage | Page 9
TRADITIONAL LEADERS IN BONG REPORTEDLY THREATEN TO FORCE MNG
GOLD OUT OF CONCESSION AREA OVER US$450 RANSOM FUND
By Selma Lomax
Kokoyah, Bong County
Traditional
leaders in Bong
County are
reportedly pushing to
force the Turkish Mining
Company, MNG Gold,
out of its concession
area in Kokoyah District
after the company gave
without their consent.
The amount was meant
for Saywhen Town, a place
due to a chemical spillover
from the operational
site of the gold mining
Company, resulting in
the contamination of the
community’s only source
of drinking water.
Some of the community
dwellers who did not know
that their drinking water
was polluted contracted
infection.
Some chiefs, upon
hearing the news of the
disbursement of the
money, have reportedly
threatened to "push hard
for the company to leave
the district because of not
informing them prior to
the disbursement of the
money".
One chief told
FrontPageAfrica: We
were left out of the entire
disbursement of the
given to the town, and
we felt disrespected by
that. That's why we have
to force them out of the
district."
Several meetings,
FrontPageAfrica
gathered, have been held
among traditional leaders,
who have the backing of
some Bong lawmakers,
locations.
As the news spread
across the county of
the chiefs' plans, some
citizens of the district,
particularly natives of
the district who are in the
employ of the company
have vowed to resist their
action.
Days
ago
FrontPageAfrica gathered
that a senator of Bong
County is reportedly
of Kokoyah District to
protest against MNG
Gold, the Turkish Mining
Company.
Our source informed
FrontPageAfrica that
the protest, which is
expected to take place
either this week or early
next week, is the result
of the lawmaker's claims
that the company isn't
meeting the needs of the
citizens as spelled out
in the Memorandum of
Understanding.
Stakeholders of the
Kokoyah District are said
to be divided by planned
protest against the
company, with majority
against the decision to
stage a protest against the
company.
Most of the stakeholders
FrontPageAfrica said
they won't be part of any
protest, particularly at a
time when the company is
doing things for residents
of the district outside of
the MoU signed between
the company and the
government.
The stakeholders
named the ongoing
reconstruction of the
vocational school, which
One stakeholder said:
"What the company is
doing under the General
Manager is so great that we
can't allow any setback to
any development projects
being undertaken."
"We have had problems
with the company before
and those things we had
qualms about have been
settled, and beyond that
the company is doing
well for residents of the
District. The provision of
motorbikes, planting of
solar lights are just a few
good things being done by
the new General Manager
of the company."
Another stakeholders
in Kokoyah District upon
hearing rumors of a
planned protest against
the company, called on
residents to resist the
temptations of protesting
against the company.
He said those planning
to riot against the
company are doing so
for their personal and
political motives, and
not in the interest of
residents of Kokoyah. It
the company was looted
and now trying to regain
its status and now people
are starting to take the
company back and so, the
community has decided
not to participate in any
protest this come around
due to a good working
relationship with the
company.
In recent weeks, the
company has been
involved in major
development works in
Kokoyah, including the
million vocational school
and the completion
clinic, construction
& rehabilitation of
community roads with
an approximated cost of
praises from residents of
the district.
The construction of
the clinic was completed
after the longest-serving
General Manager of
the company, trying to
dedicate the clinic and
school to the residents of
the neighborhood before
the start of the next
academic year.
CUSTOM OFFICERS CAUSE OF RECENT DELAYS
AT FREEPORT OF MONROVIA
unable to go ahead to
MONROVIA
facilitate their processes
since it is a digital system
The Freeport of
with an input at one end
Monrovia being
feeding into another.
the nation’s
In last Thursday’s
major seaport
incidence, for example,
has for the past few weeks
seen pockets of agitations
APM Terminals and
from customers over what
some agents to have
they term as delay in
customs correct the
clearance processes.
errors created by their
These customers lament
the implementation
update the destination in
of a new clearance
Asycuda. This occasioned
procedure instituted by
additional delays causing
APM Terminals and its
the agents to agitate at the
partners as part of the
delays are more manual the containers.
port.
Port digitization agenda.
than technical.
Close sources to the Port An agent who spoke to
The agitations reached its
As part of the digitization this reporter on the basis
crescendo last Thursday,
process, Customs have been refusing to of anonymity further
May 12 when groups of
do this update thereby
agents and brokers were
destination of containers creating delays in the been here waiting several
visibly agitated with the
in their Asycuda system release process.
process.
and on the basis for which This refusal to update that the delays have been
Independent
the container handling the system from their end caused by some people’s
investigation into this
operator, APM Terminals means that other agencies refusal to do their work.
recent menace at the Port
can go ahead to release in the value chain are Some of these Custom
however shows that the
to. Why should it take
me more time to clear
when we have moved
from analog to digital? We
cannot say we are driving
towards port digitization
when we refuse to do the
simple things that will
It is further believed by
some stakeholders that the
process is being sabotaged
system will eliminate
human manipulations
years.
“We know why some
people in these agencies
are resisting the changesit
is because it does
not serve their corrupt
added.
Early this year, port
operators APM Terminals
Liberia together with
its partners announced
measures on clearance
processes in line with its
new digitization agenda.
While the process
has not come without
initial implementation
Stakeholders continue to
The digitized release
process has been
shown to have reduced
transaction time at the
port substantially.
Further reduction in
transaction time will be
realized if all stakeholders
play their part and in
this instance if Custom
Asycuda, which is the
system for updating
container destinations.
It is important for the
National Port Authority
and its partners to pay
keen attention to these
issues as they go to the
our Port and the Liberian
economy in general.