By Amin Kef Sesay
The Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone, Du Zijun, on the 19th May 2021, said in a statement related to the $ 55M Grant China-aid Fish Harbour Project that he has noted that some local and foreign media outlets have recently published some false reports on the said Project for Sierra Leone on the basis of some unfounded social media news.
Du Zijun furthered that he finds it difficult to understand such kind of groundless speculations, attacks and smear stating that he wishes to make the following points: That the project is an assistance for the purpose of promoting the development of Sierra Leone’s fishery sector.
He further disclosed that the content of the project is to build a fish harbour rather than a “fish meat mill” underscoring how it is purely a Sierra Leonean project rather than a Chinese one.
“The accusation about Sierra Leone selling 250 acres of land to China is totally groundless,” he emphatically intimated adding how the site selection and environmental impact assessment of the project are determined or conducted by the Government of Sierra Leone in accordance with stipulated laws and administrative procedures.
Du Zijun said the Chinese side will decide on the establishment and implementation of the project after the Sierra Leonean side completes its relevant work.
He highlighted that the accusations of not paying attention to environmental protection and destroying the ecological environment are completely sensational and hypothetical.
The Economic and Commercial Counsellor maintained that it is an insult to the Government and People of Sierra Leone to claim that the Government is incapable of doing relevant work or does not consider the interests of the people.
He also posited that some people make relevant remarks about the project in the name of environmental protection, but their real intention may not be to protect the environment, but to hinder the implementation of the project and thus hinder the economic and social development of Sierra Leone.
Du Zijun asserted that some people indulge in criticizing and accusing China- Sierra Leone and China-Africa cooperation for one reason or another, but they are unwilling to contribute in a substantiated way to the economic and social development of Sierra Leone and other African countries.
“The Sierra Leonean people and the African people can see it through very easily,” he averred assuring that the China-Sierra Leone and China-Africa friendly cooperation will not be detracted by such groundless accusations.
In a related development, in a bid to enhance the proposed Black Johnson Fish Harbour Project in the Freetown Peninsular, a team of Ministers from the Ministries of Marine Resources and Fisheries, Environment and Water Resources and representatives from the Ministry of Lands on Tuesday 18th May 2021 paid a visit to the proposed project site, known as Black Johnson.
According to the Minister of Fisheries, Emma Kowa Jalloh the rationale behind the visit was to ascertain the actual location and to know who falls within the harbour area as well as to clarify issues of the land.
She said the Project will commence as it will come with various benefits such as making it possible for bigger vessels to come into the country , make it easier for Sierra Leonean officers to do inspection on vessels, create jo opportunities , increase revenue generation etc. The Minister made it categorically clear that all those having houses on the piece of land where the project will be implemented are going to be compensated since it is a private property.
It was the Minister of the Environment who clarified that the land in question does not fall within the rain forest as purported by some on Social Media assuring that the project will not pose any serious ecological impact.
