Community
Resettlement Programmes
Resettlement (RAP I)
2003-2009 (some work extended to 2012).
For people living in the mining lease area. The resettlement village was named Kimbadu by our local community residents, and the first set of houses were handed over to their new owners in July 2004.
Expansion Project Resettlement
RESETTLEMENT (RAP II)
A second resettlement agreement was entered in 2010 (RAP II, also known as the Extended Affected Area; EAA). This was introduced to resettle all who were living within the 500 meter blast zone. Work began in 2012 and is still underway.
RAP II Implementation: (Before & After: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10)
RAP II Infrastructure:
Water for Life
With an estimated annual mean rainfall of 2,526 mm, the Republic of Sierra Leone is one of the most water rich countries in West Africa. In spite of this abundant water supply, only a limited percentage of the country’s population has access to safe drinking water. According to the UNDP (2011), of the 75% (4 million) of the country’s population, which resides in the rural area, only 2% has access to safe drinking water. The rest depend on other unsafe sources such as rivers, streams, wells and standing water bodies for water supply. Hence, the high prevalence of water borne diseases like cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea in the country.
Bearing in mind the threat these diseases pose to the lives of the people, Koidu Limited has taken upon itself to provide the resettled community with safe drinking water, free of charge. At the moment, it is the only community in Koidu and the region with access to pipe borne water. The water, which was tested and certified by the Sierra Leone Water Company (SALWACO), is sourced from an 80m deep borehole using a reticulation system that pumps the water to a reservoir from which it is distributed to the various standing pipes within the community.
Healthcare
The Republic of Sierra Leone faces numerous challenges which affect the health of its people. Two significant contributors to the high mortality rates in the country are the lack of access to clean drinking water and the persistent attacks by malaria infested mosquitoes. Waterborne and respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia are widespread and together with the high malaria incidence, account for almost 60% of the deaths in the country, where the average life expectancy at birth is only 49 years.
Against this backdrop, Koidu Limited established a clinic on site to provide free health care services to its employees and their dependants (two each), preferably women and children.
In addition to the mine clinic, a new community healthcare centre is being constructed at the resettlement village for use by the affected community.
Education
One of the challenges faced by every investor in Sierra Leone relates to the acute shortage of skills in the country. Koidu Limited sees investment in education and capacity building as a long term solution to this problem.
Over the years, the Company has supported various education initiatives and will continue to channel financial aid in this direction.
Commencing 2011, Koidu Limited will increase support to over $100,000 annually for vocational skills training and the award of scholarships to deserving Kono students at various levels.
Sports
We are sports and fitness fanatics and have naturally made sports and sponsorship of sports development a prominent part of our social investment programmes.
Although we seem to place more emphasis on football development, we also take an interest in developing other sports, such as athletics, and our leaning towards the empowerment of women has led us to sponsor of events specifically aimed at promoting women and girls in sport.
Sierra Leoneans are amongst the most passionate football fans in the world. Whilst the country has abundant talent, effort and resources to develop these talents have not been adequate over the years, which is why Koidu Limited has offered assistance to sport development, especially in the Eastern Region of the country
We see investing in up and coming talents and making the national league more competitive as the starting point to developing football in the country.
Roads & Infrastructure
Infrastructural development is a major component of our community development efforts. Over the years, we have dedicated a significant amount of resources to the rehabilitation of roads, the refurbishment of schools and the construction of essential facilities both in Kono District and other parts of the country.
In addition to the 0.25% of revenue set aside annually for community development projects, we have also contributed to various infrastructure projects in the District, as well as in Freetown.
Continuous support to the community includes:
Monthly support of 1200 liters of diesel fuel to the GOSL school buses in Koidu city through KNSCC.
Monthly support of 350 liters of diesel fuel to KNSCC for the waste collection program, as part of the City waste management plan.
Regular maintenance road grading and repairs within the Kimbadu resettlement and Koidu city and surroundings.
Rehabilitaion of DO Barracks offices housing several district officials
Borehole drilling at various areas in the city and surroundings.
Construction and rehabilitation of markets in the district.
Agriculture
Assisting in Sierra Leone’s efforts to achieve Goal-1 of the Millennium Development Goals which is to Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger by 2015, we allocate 0.1% of our revenue annually for Agricultural Development in Tankoro Chiefdom. The funds are held in a trust fund controlled by the Ministry of Mineral Resources, the Tankoro Chiefdom Authorities and Koidu Limited for use in community agricultural projects.
In addition to this initiative, we are also introducing a vegetable production scheme for the resettled community as an alternative means of livelihood restoration. Two of our employees who were sent for training at the University of Bloemfontein in South Africa will manage this project. The objective is to provide the community with the technical and managerial skills, as well as the resources needed to produce quality vegetables for sale at the Freetown vegetable market. We have provided the initial capital and will also help with the marketing and transportation of the produce.
