Breakthrough! Mediation Team Calms Plantation Tension at Salala Rubber Company
Photo Credit: FrontpageAfricaonline.com
Salala, Margibi County- A mediation team setup by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to look into growing tension between residents of Salala and the Salala Rubber Plantation Company has calmed tension existing at the plantation, while an independent team is expected to be invited to further probe allegations of contamination of nearby creeks and other sources of water by the rubber company.
The conflict between the Salala Rubber Corporation, SRC and the citizens of Margibi County has been going on for a while, but recently the crisis intensified when nearly five thousand hectares of rubber were set on fire by unknown persons.
Again later during the same week of the burning of rubber, some citizens seized the company’s nursery and stopped the workers from working for two days demanding that their concerns be addressed.
The burning of the five thousand hectares of rubber compelled President Sirleaf to act, sending Deputy Internal Affairs Minister Varney Sirleaf to work along with Cllr. Alfred Brownell of Green Advocate International, to solve the crisis.
“Salala Rubber Corporation (SRC) says the government is in her pocket because she has taken our land, without just compensations and has destroyed our drinking water source and nothing is being done, so I am here to take the company from a government’s pocket and put it in my pocket,” says Mr. Abraham Kamara, Spokesperson for the Citizens.
During a meeting in Salala at the weekend, some citizens raised concerns that the company was imposing a curfew on them, while several security personnel were harassing the citizens and taking money from them on a daily basis.
“Some of us can cut sticks to sell to get money for our families, but when we reach to the checkpoint of the Company, the company security can charge us L$1,500 to cross our sticks. So after taking our land, they are taking our money, so how does the company expect us to live,” says Jerry Kollie, a local farmer.
Speaking about the alleged curfew and harassment carried out by the Company, Minister Sirleaf warned the Company against the act if the allegations are true.
“If it is true that you have imposed a curfew on the citizens, it is wrong and you should stop, because only a state can impose a curfew on citizens and not a company.
Since the matter has reached the President, and the matter is being investigated, no security should harass the citizens who are trying to make a living. Anybody found doing so, and the matter is reported, you will be dealt with according to the law.”
Minister Sirleaf said the government is not in the SRC pocket as claimed by some of the citizen; as he said such comment prompted President Sirleaf to ask him to work with Cllr. Brownell and the Company to find a solution.
“When President Sirleaf saw the story that the rubber farm was on fire, she immediately called me to ask what was she seeing in the papers and asked that I work along with Cllr. Brownell.
And we have suggested to the Company that a team of expert from overseas to come and do an independent investigation with all parties involved, for transparency and accountability. So nobody can accuse the other group of bribery,” said Deputy Minister Sirleaf.
Mr. JallahMensah, SRC Administrative Officer, said the Company has addressed the issue of crop payment since 2002, 2012 and 2013 and stated that regarding the issue of SRC crossing the boundary, a survey has to be done in order to know where boundary stops.
The meeting that brought together hundreds of indigenous farmers from nearby Towns and Villages had a Kpelleh interpreter, who made it for the farmers to understand.
But the citizens went wild with anger when SRC representative blamed them of making themselves sick from the poisoned water that they almost left the meeting if not for the presence of the Minister and Cllr. Brownell.
“If you say the water was poisoned, in October we addressed the issue by building hand pumps, but you decided to go back and drink the same water which your forefathers were drinking, and when you get sick, we are not to be held responsible”, Mensah said.
After the spokesman calmed the angry crowd, Mr. Mensah said the company was ready to work along with the Minister and the Cllr. to settle the issue.
“We will work along with your lawyer Cllr. Alfred Brownell, and Minister Varney Sirleaf to settle this problem once and for all and put it behind us, so the Company has agreed to work with your lawyer in addressing the issues.”
Cllr. Alfred Brownell during the meeting frowned on the alleged actions of money exploitation by the plantations security and warned the company to stop if they are involved in such act.
“How can you be wicked to your own people in such manner when you all are Liberians? How do you expect the man to feed his family when you set checkpoint to take money from him?”
He cautioned his clients not to take the law into their hands, since he is representing them, because he believes in the law.
Cllr. Brownell said he is writing international experts to do investigations, admonishing the citizens to find all documents to show the company did or did not pay for their crops, instead of waiting for the experts to come, before searching for their documents.
“I am going to write the same experts who are based in Swaziland to do the investigation because they have done other cases regarding similar cases in Liberia and around the world.
"But I have to write them first and see if they can come before I can send word to tell you all, because sometimes they are busy and have other work to do.”
courtesy of FrontpageAfricaonline.com