Demolition Begins at Black Johnson for Fishing Harbour Project
Fatmata Grace Bangura Demolitions have started at Black Johnson Beach, where the government says it plans to build a fishing harbour.
The project has been surrounded by controversy since 2021, when people began saying the government had allegedly sold over 100 hectares of land including beach and forest to a Chinese state-owned company. The government has not publicly confirmed a sale but has said it signed an implementation agreement to move forward with the fishing harbour at Black Johnson.
About a month ago, the Director of Fisheries, Sheku Sei, said the project was moving forward. He said the land belongs to the state and that after the announcement, people started putting up structures without permission. He explained that the Ministry of Fisheries, the Ministry of Lands, and law enforcement agencies would work together to remove those structures.
In June, videos shared online showed structures being taken down at the site. It appears the demolition phase of the project has now begun.
Some residents and landowners say they are being forced to leave. Environmental and community groups have also raised concerns. They say the project could affect the beach, forest, and fish in the area. Black Johnson is known for its natural setting and fishing activity.
The government says the harbour will help the country earn more from fishing, improve facilities, and create jobs. It says the land is public and that the process has followed legal steps.
The demolition marks a new stage in a project that has drawn different views since it was first announced.
This government is very selfish and greedy, they are very heartless
How can pravite land belong to government without buying it to the people, God will surely gorge this people one by one Amen 🙏.
What a wicked world aaa
This are the things that kill people, becoz with all the suffer that person have gone through just to have a resting place with his or her family. Then u did this wicked act just in one day.