Leone Rock Metal Group In Constant Violation Of The Laws Of Sierra Leone

By Aruna Momoh Kargbo

Leone Rock Metal Group (LRMG) formerly of Kingho Mining Company has been in constant violation of the laws of Sierra Leone in carrying out their operations in the country.
These violations were reaffirmed by the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency (SLLCA) few days ago when the Agency headed by their Director General Fodeba Daboh conducted thorough auditing on the company.
During this process of intense auditing exercise carried out by the SLLCA, serious anomalies were picked up by the Agency which are actually not new findings as the mining company has always been accused of such violations despite their denial of the same.
In 2024, several allegations were made against the company, pointing at violations of labour and immigration laws, mistreatment of local workers, poor condition of service among others which forced the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security Mohamed Rahman Swaray to pay a visit to the mining site to gather first-hand information.
During this visit of Thursday 20th June 2024, the local workers expressed and vented out their frustration to the Minister with specific reference to the violations being meted at them.
The just completed audit by the Local Content Agency equally revealed that LRMG continues to disregard the laws of Sierra Leone as pointed out by the DG Fodeba Daboh.
“It is clear that Leone Rock Metal Group and its contractors and sub-contractors are in violation of the Local Content Laws in Sierra Leone,” Fodeba Daboh stated.
Responding to the concerns, the Director of Human Resources Mohamed Daffe said that the issues raised by the Local Content Agency can be done by following due processes.
He noted that the Agency should not just go public without completing the auditing process and that the law states that it should be 21 days.
More on this in subsequent editions.