Kokoyah District, Bong County – Ninety-seven Turkish expatriates employed with MNG Gold Liberia Inc. and New Liberty Gold Mine have been repatriated over uncertainties of their current medical conditions including diabetes, hypertension, and other health conditions, MNG Gold’s Government Liaison Officer Eugene Kollie told FrontPageAfrica Sunday.
Of the 97 Turkish expatriates, 54 were from MNG Gold mine site in Kokoyah Statutory District, Bong County while 43 from its Liberty Gold Mine site in Grand Cape Mount County.
Kollie said the 97 expatriates needed to be reunited with their families amid the current coronavirus pandemic in the world. Normally, the expats goes for break after every 3 months to visit their family members and come back to resume work, Kollie said.
Also, Kollie said, the companies has brought into the country 11 of its staff who were on break in Turkey before the virus hit the country. They are returning, Kollie added, because, they had no means of returning to Liberia though the virus has intensified in the country.
Kollie said those 11 staffs were placed under quarantine for fourteen days in Turkey and tests conducted on them came back negative of the virus.
Kollie further said among the returning 11 staff is a medical doctor who “is coming to promote Liberia’s health sector as the country strives to end the virus. “Despite the global pandemic and the surge in the number of deaths being reported, MNG Gold is committed to promoting the Liberian economy in such a difficult time by bringing in 11 Turkish expatriate that were placed under quarantine for 14 days and tested negative for the virus. Among those 11 staff is a renowned medical doctor that will help buttress the country’s fight in curbing the virus,” Kollie added.
Kollie also said that the companies would work with the county health teams of Bong and Grand Cape Mount Counties to ensure the necessary health protocols are required before the arrival of the Turkish expatriates.