By: Rational Joe Ks FINEBOY
With the Government’s planned decision to remove illegal miners from Sapo National Park, miners in the area are now on rush hour, doubling up more efforts, terming it “rush hour,” as they explore more mining sites within the Park.
According to our investigation, there are several sites where deposits of gold are being discovered, through increasing mining activities within the Park; this, according to our investigation, has called for overtime or 24/7 work, with nearly everywhere in the park areas, with miners exploring more sites of gold deposit, but with deepening concerned of government planned action to remove illegal occupants from the areas. “We are deeply concerned with this latest information that, the government, through every possible means has resolved to get rid of every activity in this Park, it’s troubling for us, so we are doing everything possible to get more of what we have been getting, that we can trade in after our remover from here by authority, to substantially establish ourselves because we don’t know the government plan as to whether we will be settled or not; by the right government should be able to settle us before taking us from here because some of us have lived here for several years, doing everything and at the same time contributing to the country’s economics. The fact that we are in this bush, whether legal or illegal, this is where we have been sending our children to school and doing our businesses, is this not part of our contribution to national development?” stressed a regular trader within the Sapo Park.
Preferred to withhold his identity, the Parker narrated that he has invested a lot in the Sapo National Park, pointing at several water machines, over a hundred shivers, and other materials used for mining purposes. He said as a local broker, he has over seventy-five men working with him in the park paying them daily and feeding them; “I started with one machine, three shivers, and three men in 2017 but today I can boast of how far I have reached”; he added.
For his part, only identified as John Putu, claiming to be a resident of Gbalawein, an adjacent town to the Park told our investigator that for several years he had been trading for a miner (gold) within the Sapo Park, by carrying food items and other assorted goods in the bush for sale or do battle system, something he said it has been the source of survival for him and his family over the years; but now expressed deep concern on the aftermath of government planned action to get the miners from the Park.
“Thou I am not directly doing mining in the Park, but through the miners, I doing my business so if they are taking from this bush it will surely jeopardize my operations in that, I wouldn’t get anywhere like this to do my regular transactions”; Putu noted.
Putu lamented the absence of companies in the county to hire everyone, especially those who are not letter or have some formal education backing; noting that mining and business are what they are depending on to educate their children and sustain themselves. He further acknowledged that occupation or trading within the park is illegal but cited that they who are the direct owners of the forest are not benefiting much from the national government; something he cited that, if the removal of illegal occupants in the Sapo Park is to be successful, there should be a measure put in place to avoid allege margination of citizens who are considered direct owners of the forest, stressing that, governments after government, nothing much has been doing to help citizens from the surrounding towns and villages close to the Park.
It can be recalled of recent that, Sinoe County Attorney, Cllr. Daniel Dweh to our investigator that the Liberian Government has finally resolved to remove everyone living and illegally working in Sapo Park.
According to Cllr. Dweh, several times governments through state security and assigned FDA Rangers for the Park and partners have made tremendous effort to get illegal operators from the Sapo Forest, but there had been resistance from these illegal occupants, sometimes challenging fire-arm securities. “this time around government is not going to relent, our security officers including FDA Rangers are gearing up to get rid of those criminal exploring the country resources that should be preserved for future generations; and nothing, I mean absolutely nothing will stop this year operation to free the Sapo National Park of Illegal Miners” Attorney Dweh said.
Cllr. Dweh used the medium to caution citizens in other parts of Liberia who have relatives in Sapo Park to inform them of the government’s planned action because there will be no compromise if security men backed by the national government get ready for their operation. He noted that since the FDA is the main security agent that is in full control of the Park, but is not armed, they are going to be joined by the Liberia National Police Emergency Respond Unit and members of the Army Forces of Liberia AFL for as join security operations move on the Sapo National Park illegal miners. Without calling a specific time when the government is going to embark on said operation, Sinoe’s Attorney said it’s a security matter that does not call for every detail to be exposed to the public but assures the public of the government plan.
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