By Robert Kondema Kargbo
Apartheid might have ended decades ago in the Republic of South Africa but it seems it has appeared in Sierra Leone in the form of Koidu Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of OCTÉA Limited, whose racist South African owners have been treating Sierra Leonean workers like substandard human beings.
When Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Madam Fatima Madaa Bio, tried to put a stop to their racist and imperialist tendencies, Koidu Holdings Limited has now resorted to blackmailing tactics to scare her away from fighting for the rights of Sierra Leonean workers at the company. But that racist and imperialist blackmailing tactics will not work on our revered and most respected First Lady who has not only been championing girls’ rights but also fighting for the rights of workers at Koidu Holdings Limited to get better salaries and good conditions of service.
What is more insulting to Sierra Leone’s sovereignty and pride is the recent threat by Koidu Holdings Limited to take legal action against Madam Fatima Madaa Bio for merely standing up against social injustice that is being practice by the company and fighting for her own Kono people. The First Lady has been fighting for wage increases, salary conversion rate discrepancy, better employment conditions and reinstatement of dismissed workers.
Before the dismissal of 1000 Sierra Leonean employees by Koidu Holdings Limited last week, the dispute between the company and the local workers had revolved around a discrepancy between the exchange rate stipulated in the payment contract and the prevailing official rate. According to the agreement signed in 2013, the company was obligated to pay workers in US dollars or local currency at a rate pegged to the dollar. At that time, the agreed conversion was approximately 6.50 Leones to one US dollar. However, despite the Central Bank’s current rate of about 22 Leones per dollar, the company has continued to use its internal figure of 6.50 Leones for wage conversions.
Another bone of contention between Koidu Holdings Limited and the now dismissed local workers is the fact that local workers who were doing the backbreaking work were being paid a paltry NLe60 daily wage, which is less than US$3 a day. This money is insulting because it is not enough to feed their families for a day considering the current cost of living. Added to that, most of these workers have no retirement benefit, no pension or NASSIT at the end of the day. To add salt to injury, the company is paying their compatriots from South Africa millions of Leones while Sierra Leonean workers are being paid pittance of few million Leones.
That was the dehumanizing conditions under which most of the now dismissed 1000 Sierra Leonean employees were working at Koidu Holdings Limited. The owners of the company are so disrespectful to Sierra Leoneans that they are now saying that under the terms of the Employment Act 2023 and internal policy, dismissed employees are not entitled to end-of-service benefits or any other compensation.
Unconfirmed reports say the Country Manager of Koidu Holdings Limited sometimes refers to our government ministers as “useless “. He is said to have boasted in a telephone conversation with one traditional authority in Kono District that he has the power to recommend the sacking of the Minister of Mines. Other foreign workers are also said to be treating local workers like dogs.
Worst still, Koidu Holdings has even warned that it may pursue legal action against individuals deemed responsible for losses incurred during what it called “an illegal strike action” by workers who showed “gross misconduct”.
What an insult to Sierra Leone’s sovereignty and pride. The recent racist and imperialist tendencies by Koidu Holdings Limited must be challenged and stopped by all well meaning Sierra Leoneans irrespective of political party affiliations because it is an attack on our mineral wealth. The threat of taking legal action against Madam Fatima Madaa Bio is also an attack on Sierra Leone’s sovereignty and pride. The First Lady’s fight for wage increases, better employment conditions, and reinstatement of dismissed workers is a nationalistic fight not one that is personal.
This fight must now be taken over by His Excellency President Julius Maada like how the Burkinabe leader, Captain Traore, is doing for his people. He is challenging the bad mining agreements which are disadvantaging his people. From the onset, the Koidu Holdings Limited agreement with the Government of Sierra Leone is not favouring Sierra Leoneans but the imperialists.
That is why all patriotic Sierra Leoneans must new rally behind Madam Fatima Madaa Bio to stand up against racism and imperialism in Sierra Leone. We should all support the First Lady because she is now championing a national cause.