Citizens of Sekemai Town Demand Ghanaian-Chinese Mining Company Out of Their Land, Allege the Absence of Formal Agreement

By: J. Mason Kollie I Lofa County Correspondent

Voinjama City, Lofa county-Friday, November 7, 2025-Citizens of Sekemai Town, Voinjama District are calling on the local authority to immediately stop mining activities in their area.

According to the chairlady of the town Ma-Sonnie Vayanba, there are Chinese and Ghanaian nationals engaged mining gold and diamond in the nearby town of Daysayba without any benefit coming directly to them or their towns.

Chairlady Sonnie says the town people only saw Chinese and Ghanaians entering their town with yellow machines without a formal arrangement cum agreement between they and we the town’s people.

“We only saw them entering our town with their yellow machines spoiling our road; wooden bridges and when we ask them, they said they are carrying the machines to Daysayba Town for gold and diamond purposes. The people are spoiling our bridges and taking away our minerals from the ground without proper benefit or compensation.”

When they (Ghanaians and Chinese) requested some months back that they wanted to carryout mining activities in the region, we asked them too to help build our road including bridges, but they refused to our request, so there was no conclusion on the matter at all!

Today, we are seeing them with their yellow machines on our road spoiling it; because they are looking for gold and diamond, we are saying no to them completely. We don’t need them here because they rejected our request for fixing our road. By right, there should be a formal agreement but as things stand, there is no agreement of any kind whatsoever.

We are seeing them mining our resources with no agreement in place and it is hurting us if this continues; especially using our roads, the Government will soon hear about us,” Chairlady Sonnie told our reporter in an interview.

For his part, the Youth leader of Sekemai Town, Cyrus Pewee said the illegal mining company has 4 Chinese and 11 Ghanaian who are currently in their bush for mining activities.

“It was on last morning hours about 3:00am, when we saw two pickups loaded with some men of Ghanaian origin entering our town with different equipment. When we asked them, they said they were not stopping in our town but instead continuing to Daysayba just 7 minutes ride from the Sekemai”.

Cyrus continued, “Unfortunately for us, we realized that the Chinese nationals have already damaged one of our bridges without repair.”

Citizens in the Town are threatening to apply force for their yellow machines not to move to Daysayba Town.

Meanwhile, one of the community focal persons working with the Ghana-Chinese Mining Company currently operating from Daysayba Town, James Gayflor, refused to talk our reporter regarding his company’s presence in Voinjama District; adding that “I am not the right person or official spokesperson of the company. We can’t talk to you in details because our bosses are not here and they never authorized us to speak to any media.

All I can say to you is the town Chief is aware of our being here, and the Commissioner is also aware, we didn’t come into the bush on our own, we were sent by people, again my boss man will tell you more about our activities here, ” James Gayflor, the community focal person from Daysayba Town; where the mining activities is taking place.

More residents of Voinjama District have begun pointing accusing fingers at Voinjama District  and Commissioner David Mawolo and other local officers of being complicit in doing business with Ghanaian-Chinese Company somewhat illegally operating in the district.

For his part, Voinjama district Commissioner David Mawolo in a short interview said he will meet with his people to sit on the table and find the solution.

Commissioner David Mawolo, however confirmed that there is a Chinese Mining Company operating in the Daysayba Town, Kpademai Town and other associated areas. Commissioner Mawolo didn’t show reporters any memorandum of understanding or formal document between the designated towns and the Company for mining operations. Furthermore, the Commissioner equally confirmed that there are mining activities around the Wologizi Mountain where Liberia’s natural mineral reserve is located.

Over the past few months in Lofa and elsewhere in the country, there have been widespread information about illegal mining activities in Aliens and Foreigner in the bushes, but not thing is done about it.