By Abdul Hassan Fackie, Freetown, Sierra Leone. October 2, 2024.
A front page article published by Salone Compass Newspaper Vol: 4. No : 301 of Thursday, 29th August, 2024, in an attempt to tarnish the good images and reputations of Mackie Brothers in respect to a plot of land at Hastings Airfield, ended up vindicating the Mackie family.
According to the article written by the Proprietor, Mr. Ibrahim Alusine Kamara commonly known as Kamalo, he clearly pointed out that the decision to sell the said portion of land to the Mackie family was a Cabinet decision for the sole purpose of industralization.
The article further stated clearly that the Ministries of Lands, Transport and Aviation both alluded to the fact that the decision to sell the said portion of land to the Mackie Brothers was a Cabinet decision aimed to promote industralization and employment opportunities in the country, and that the due process of the law to own a state land was followed.
It could be recalled that the media, civil society organizations, consumer protection officers, environmental officers of Government agencies and the Freetown City Council have long been calling for the relocation of MACCEM, the Mackie Cement factory from the center of town at Ferry Junction to a remote area in the rural district due to the health hazards that its operations cause by the clicker and limestone chemicals.
The preparations by the government for the location of the ECOWAS Stabilization or Standby Force, ECOMOG, in Sierra Leone have ignited many untrue stories about Sierra Leoneans that have been displaced from the boundaries of the Hastings Airfield and continue to make rounds on social media and other media platforms.
However, our investigation revealed that majority of Sierra Leoneans that are currently homeless are those that forcefully encroached into the boundaries of the Hastings Airfield without proper documentations from the Ministry of Lands.
The article further justified that the Mackie brothers are not the only individuals that the government sold a portion of the Hastings Airfield to but also to a very popular and high-ranking security official and few others that the writer believed to be owned by highly influential people, have been spared.
The Ministry of Lands wishes to inform all those with documents in respect to the said portion of land at Hastings Airfield to reach the Ministry without any delay.
As we were going to press, scores of Sierra Leoneans reiterated to this medium that the Ahmed Mackie and Hisham Mackie are doing very good work in this county by establishing factories that have given thousands of jobs to Sierra Leoneans, especially the young people. They called on government to continue to support the Mackie brothers in their efforts to create employment for Sierra Leoneans thereby reducing poverty and crime.
