It was a good vision by President Julius Maada Bio and the Minister of Mines to market the country and create an enabling business environment that will attract credible investors to do business in the country.

This will not only provide jobs for the unemployed youths but will also capacitate them and provide the much foreign exchange needed in Sierra Leone.

Unfortunately, whilst the President is striving to actualize this vision, some politicians are busy exploiting the situation by amassing illegal wealth for their campaign activities.

One group of people that has been implicated in this dismal situation is the Sierra Leone Peoples Party Chairman for Western Rural (former) and the Village Headman for Bioma Town, Foday Bangura.

According to report, some investors last month travelled to Freetown to secure land and permit to undertake viable mining activities in the country. Upon arrival, one Idrissa took them to the SLPP Chairman Habib Thorpe who wasted no time to alert Foday Bangura for the said deal. Documents were tendered to them for verification.

At Lands Ministry, surveyors accompanied them to the site alongside Habib Thorpe. It was disclosed that the document has no problem if that was the site to be sold.

 

With this, Habid Thorpe asked for One Hundred Million Leones as the selling price for an acre of land but later settled for Forty Million Leones. After payment, Habid furthered that he has over 10 acres of land for sale but was cautioned that they are settle for the one acre paid for and will only consider that upon the arrival of their machines and experts.The following day after payment, the investors made a visit to the site and Habib Thorpe and Co. directed them to another site belonging to one Mammy Dumbuya and other persons. There was commotion over the said land and the SLPP Chairman was called to the scene. At this point neither him, nor Foday could be traced. It was resolved that the money paid for the land should be refunded with immediate effect.

According to Standard Times,  It was also noted that when the money was paid to Habib Thorpe, instead of writing the correct name of the seller Foday, instead he wrote Foday Conteh on the receipt. After weeks of promising to refund the money, it is alleged that the unequal sharing of the money with Foday has landed him into serious embarrassment. Report also alleged that Habib is currently parading the Western Rural Area with the message that he is the next Deputy Lands Minister as the President will soon make a reshuffle