Homeowners in the Chinese Quarry area of Mambo are facing an urgent call to halt construction work and immediately demolish their buildings. The government declared the area a disaster-prone zone on Wednesday 6th March 2024, prompting the Ministry of Lands and Country Planning to take action.

The decision followed a viral social media video on Tuesday night, showing falling rocks and debris from a hilltop onto nearby unfinished mansions. The Deputy Minister of Lands, along with forest guards, marked the homes for demolition and pasted notices instructing residents to vacate, demolish, and report to the ministry.

Chairperson of the Chinese quarry site, Abdul Koroma showing the stone that fell from the top of the hill explained that the China Railway Seventh Group started stone mining on the hill for road construction five years ago. The hill, now crushed and abandoned, has caused environmental impacts, and water is surfacing from the ground. Koroma emphasized that the dimensions of the affected area span approximately 10 kilometers from the residents.

The video depicting deaths and casualties, according to Koroma is false and has never occurred in the community. He clarified that a resident stone miner identified a large stone on the hill, volunteered to remove it, and informed other miners before taking action. The stone was pushed down the hill with an iron rod, landing on the mining site.

Government officials, including military personnel, arrived at the scene the following morning. Mariama Seray Kamara, whose shanty structure was marked for demolition, relies on selling cold sachet water and beverages for survival. Stone miner Ramatu Turay, who has been in the trade for ten years, expressed concern about the sudden halt in their livelihood.
She mentioned that after breaking stones, customers, including the Chinese, bought them at Le3,500 per headpan.

During the ministry’s visit to the hill, they identified more than 10 houses, some unfinished, with claims that permits were granted by the ministry. Over a hundred women depend on stone mining in the community and are now seeking alternative solutions.

The notification passed by the ministry to the community residents reads, “Due to the imminent threat posed by natural disasters in this area, all occupants must vacate the premises and demolish any structures on the land with immediate effect.”

Before leaving the hazard zone, the Deputy Minister of Lands and the team urged residents to collaborate with the government to prevent an impending disaster in the Mambo Chinese Quarry community.