By: Thaimu Bai Sesay
In a remarking statement after embarking on an oversight, the Chairperson for the Mining and Mineral Resources Committee in the Sierra Leone Parliament, Hon. Saa Emerson Lamina, expressed firm confidence in FG Gold Mining Company, saying its mining patterns should be emulated.
“Chief Oliver Tunde Andrews, Executive Chairman of FG Gold Mining Company, patterns of mining, should be a model to modern-day miners,” Chairperson Hon. Saa Emerson Lamina emphasized, banking on some important reasons he revealed during this interview.
The Hon. Chairperson of the Mining and Mineral Resources Committee and Deputy Leader 2 of Government Business made this statement in an exclusive interview at Parliament on Friday, November 15th, 2024. The interview was a pre-engagement with the press, setting the stage for a broader conversation with the committee on a recent report.
Justifying his affirmative statement that FG Gold should be a model, Hon. Saa Lamina disclosed that the FG Gold Mining Company has not gotten a dine of gold but has been effectively exercising its Cooperative Social Responsibility. Sections 143 and 144 make it very clear that mining companies are obligated to give at least one percent to the community as a Community Development Agreement bond.
Though Chief Olive Tunde Andrews of FG Gold has yet to qualify, his Corporate Social Responsibility should be admired. He has built a school in Baoma Chiefdom Bo District, he has embarked on solarization of major communities in that particular place, and 70% of his workers are local content,” Chairperson of Mining Committee Hon. Saa Emerson Lamina underscored, adding that it is why Investor Andrews should be admired and commended.
The Hon. Chair further intimated that mining started in 1930, and FG Gold happened to be the first gold mining company to embark on large-scale mining in Sierra Leone, as he recalled that gold was just mined at the artisanal level with local calabash. The Hon. continued that the first license the Government of Sierra Leone ever gave in large-scale mining was that of FG Gold Mining Company. With all these, the Hon. Leader and Chair representing the people of Kono therefore called on all investors, international, national, and inland, reinforcing that Dr. Oliva Tunde Andrews’s mining pattern should be a model.
As the Hon. aimed to clarify some controversial information about the company, the impromptu and brief interview was just to set the stage for a broader discussion at the committee level. With the involvement of committee members from both spectrums of the House, a deeper and sincere conversation revealing more information is expected.
