AYV News, August 7, 2026
Deputy Director of Programs at Namati Sierra Leone, Daniel Sesay, has cautioned that Sierra Leone’s proposed five-year National Critical Minerals Strategy could fail to deliver its intended benefits unless longstanding injustices affecting mining communities are urgently addressed.
Speaking after participating in a stakeholder consultation on the strategy, Sesay argued that while the government’s vision seeks to harness the growing global demand for critical minerals to drive economic transformation, it risks falling short if communities continue to experience land rights violations, inadequate compensation, environmental degradation, and exclusion from decision-making.
Sesay cited the situation in Tanyehun community in Ngowahun chiefdom, where he said the walls of the community’s only school have developed cracks due to repeated blasting from the nearby lithium mining operations of Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd., locally known as Leone Afric Metals. He also alleged that residents from eight surrounding villages who gathered to raise concerns over the company’s operations were twice ordered by police to disperse.
According to him, it was against this backdrop that he attended the stakeholder consultation in Freetown, where government officials praised the country’s mining sector reforms and highlighted Leone Afric Metals as an example of successful investment under the proposed critical minerals strategy.
Sesay, however, expressed disappointment that concerns repeatedly raised by Namati Sierra Leone and other civil society organisations regarding the company’s alleged non-compliance with the Customary Land Rights Act, 2022, received little attention during the discussions.
He alleged that the company had failed to uphold the principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), imposed one-sided land lease agreements, inadequately compensated farmers for damaged crops, and failed to conduct proper land surveys before acquiring community land. He further claimed that rent payments have been routed through third parties, increasing the risk of fraud and corruption, while reports of intimidation by police and local authorities, as well as environmental pollution and unsafe blasting near residential areas, continue to emerge.
Sesay maintained that the Customary Land Rights Act, 2022, and the Mines and Minerals Development Act, 2023, which were enacted to protect landowners and improve governance in the mining sector, are not being effectively enforced.
He also pointed to similar disputes elsewhere in the country, including a lawsuit filed by crop owners in Moyamba District against Jinshi Mining (SL) Ltd. over alleged failure to compensate them for destroyed crops, and longstanding concerns raised by communities in Marampa and Maforki Chiefdoms regarding the operations of CTC Mining Ltd. in Port Loko District.
The Namati official questioned whether the government’s critical minerals strategy could genuinely achieve inclusive prosperity if grievances in mining communities remain unresolved. He warned that without meaningful reforms, the strategy could become another policy framework that prioritises revenue generation and foreign investment over the rights and welfare of affected communities.
He further criticised what he described as the exclusion of communities from key decisions, including the signing of land lease agreements, which he said are often concluded without the knowledge or consent of landowners. He also raised concerns over mining concessions reportedly being granted in ecologically sensitive areas such as the Kangari Hills and Kambui Hills forest reserves.
Sesay concluded by urging President Julius Maada Bio, the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources, and the National Minerals Agency to address the grievances of communities in Ngowahun Chiefdom and other mining areas, insisting that meaningful reforms must place affected communities at the centre of Sierra Leone’s mining and development agenda.
His remarks add to the ongoing national debate over how Sierra Leone can balance investment in its critical minerals sector with the protection of community rights, environmental sustainability, and equitable economic development.
