Paynesville – The management of Bea Mountain Mining Company based in Grand Cape Mount County is commitment to fight alongside the Government of Liberia to curb the spread of Covid-19, says Henry Vincent, Community Relations Superintendent of Bea Mountain.
“We would like to inform the public that we have beefed up safety and precautionary measures among our staff and will continue to work alongside the Government of Liberia to defeat this pandemic,” Vincent said recently during a press conference in Paynesville.
He said as part of the company’s support to local communities in its project-affected areas, several Covid-19 preventive materials were donated to six schools and residents of Kinjor Town in the Gola Konneh District.
“Liquid detergents, hand sanitizers, nose masks, and buckets for hand washing were given out to these residents and we also want to inform the public that we will continue the distribution of more COVID-19 preventive materials to our project-affected communities in order to buttress the efforts of the government in stopping the spread of this coronavirus disease,” Vincent said.
Meanwhile, the Bea Mountain Mining Company community relations superintendent stressed that the company is also concerned about recent media reports claiming that over 25 percent of the company’s workers have been tested positive for COVID-19 and are being quarantined.
“The company would like to make specific reference to a FrontPage Africa July 5, 2021 report in which it cited an internal memorandum which stated that at least 25 percent of the company staff are now confirmed positive with Covid-19,” Vincent said, adding that the percentage was erroneously exaggerated.
“While we do not want to consider the entire media report erroneous, we think the percentage used in the report was exaggerated and does not represent the actual COVID-19 situation at the company.”
According to data made public by the National Public Health Institute of Liberia, Grand Cape Mount County has recorded 55 confirmed cases of Covid-19 since the outbreak started in March 2020. So far, 20 persons have already recovered; so, his means 35 persons are currently being treated for the virus since there has been no death reported from the county.
“For confidentiality purpose, we cannot say if all the 35 people are employees of Bea Mountain but a clear analysis of this number in relation with the total number of employees hired by the company will disprove the 25 percent referenced by the media,” he said.
He disclosed that Bea Mountain currently has approximately 3,500 workers which includes expats, permanent national staff, short term, casual and long term contractors.
“We think it is clear, based on the facts available to everyone, that 35 persons cannot represent 25 percent of a total of 3,500 people who are currently working with the company both at our Monrovia offices and on the mines in Grand Cape Mount County,” he said.
The management also called on the media to continue to help report about the pandemic in order to educate the public on how the country can curb the spread of the virus.
“We are aware that the current health situation of the country is dire and requires the holistic support of everyone – Liberians and non-Liberians alike. That is why we are committed to working with the health authorities and other actors to ensure that the spread of the virus is curbed,” Vincent.
At the same time, the Bea Mountain management has “emphatically refuted allegations that some of our expats illegally obtained Liberian visa into the country, as reported by the media”.
“Bea Mountain Mining Corporation remains a strong corporate citizen of Liberia and is committed to following all laws and regulations put in place by the government,” Vincent stressed.