Monrovia – The head of the National Technical Committee set up to coordinate rescue and humanitarian efforts at the Nimba gold mine disaster, Internal Affairs Minister Varney Sirleaf has announced that the committee has begun receiving donations from private entities and concessions in Liberia.
Report by Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected]
The assorted materials which include food and non-food items, according to Minister Sirleaf were given by ArcelorMittal: 200 25kg-bags of rice, 500 sac of water, 20 gallons of cooking oil, 20 pieces of mattresses and five bills of used clothes.
Abi Joudi Super Market donated: 100 25kg-bags of rice, 160 cartoons of chicken meat and 50 tins of cooking oil; Bea Mountain Gold Mining Company presented 300 25kg-bags of rice; Orange GSM: 400 25kg-bags of rice, cooking oil worth US$500 and water worth US$500.
According to him, Fouta Corporation donated 100 25kg-bags of rice and CEMENCO gave 100 50-kg bags of rice, 100 gallons of cooking oil and 100 bags of onion.
Meanwhile, during ArcelorMittal’s presentation on Wednesday, February 20, at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the company’s Government Relations Superintendent, Gus B. Knowlden noted that the gesture was in response to President Weah’s call for humanitarian assistance to the affected community.
Minister Sirleaf thanked the entities for the donation and noted that he will be heading to Nimba on Thursday, February 21 to deliver the materials to the affected community and called for more support.
He was joined by Rep. Dorwohn T. Gleekia (Nimba District No. 6) and other committee members including Justice Minister, Cllr. Musa Dean, Mines and Energy Minister, Gesler E. Murray, and the Director General of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), the Chief of Staff of the Army, Maj. General Prince C. Johnson III.
Rep. Gleekia who directly represents the affected community at the House of Representatives, on behalf of the people of Nimba and the community thanked ArcelorMittal for being one of the first responders.
Mines and Energy Minister Gersler E. Murray also lauded the entities and noted that the committee is mindful of those that are still trapped under the debris.
He admonished local miners in the country to observe the mining code to avoid the recurrence of the tragic incident.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Agency has announced that the complication of the mine is impeding speedy rescue efforts and has brought the Technical Committee to a standstill.
Amid this setback, the Government of Liberia has released 59 suspects who were recently arrested at the Kartee Village Gold Mining area in Gboanipea Town by the Armed Forces of Liberia alongside the Police Support Unit of the Liberia National police.
The release comes as authorities failed to recover more bodies from the mine, which collapsed last week.
Some 40 bodies remain under the mud as rescue effort enter its second week.
Of this number, first responders have recovered seven (7) dead bodies and rescued few survivors. Three (3) of the seven bodies have been recognized by relatives and turned over to their family members for burial while others are yet to be identified as a result of decay.
Due to the long stay of entrapped persons in the collapsed soil, disaster management specialists, health workers, security officers and environmentalists have stated that the lack of assess to air, food and water (if the victims may have been alive) may not keep the victims alive considering the length of time they have stayed underground.
Declaring February 18, 2019, a Day of National Mourning in the aftermath of the tragic incident at the Gboanipea Mine, President Weah made an SOS call for humanitarian assistance and called international organizations and development partners including the United Nations, ECOWAS, European Union, United States, the Peoples Republic China and other friendly nations having expertise in disaster management to join the technical team to bring needed relief to individuals and families affected by the disaster.