Mariama Mansaray reports

Alex Bangura, project proponent, says IPEM is studying how Sierra Leone’s mineral resources can benefit the country as a nation.

The present situation, he says, continues to provoke a deeper thought on natural resource governance regarding the degree at which the country benefits from her resources in terms of GDP and fiscal revenue on the one hand and mineral exports on the other.

“It is conspicuous, that Sierra Leoneans are abreast with the endowment of mineral resources in the country and the dealings in the stock market of mineral resources”, Mr Bangura noted.

IPEM teamed up with the local advocacy group, Campaign for Equality to organise the Sierra Leone First Students’ Conference in which focus was on “managing our resource, potential opportunities and challenges”.

IPEM’s Dr Reverend Momodu Conteh noted geological evidence shows Sierra Leone has some of the world’s most precious mineral resources, but that they have not seen as much as they would want to see in returns as a nation.

He listed the minerals including diamond, rutile, bauxite, gold and iron ore plus marine resources, a seismologic report on crude oil and natural gas, a fertile soil for vegetation and the country’s topography and population density.

Alex Bangura says in light of these factors at play, their clarion call is for industrial revitalization, especially the establishment of the manufacturing sector of the production circle in a bid to attain social and economic prominence.