By Ibrahim Thoronka (Cavani) in Lunsar
"If my business is closed for a minute, I will sack all officials from top to bottom, Craig Dean, Gerald Group’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Marampa Mines Limited, said in a meeting".
The statement of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Craig Dean sparks much controversy about the issue, leading to such an utterance by the general membership of the company's senior officials.
The CEO expressed deep concerns raised by the Mineworkers Union regarding the poor welfare and conditions of services of employees at Marampa Mines Limited (MML). The more pressing issue on the table is the twenty-one-day strike ultimatum given by the United Mineworkers Union (UMU) to the company's management through the office of the Vice President of Corporate Affairs of Marampa Mines Limited, Madam Aminata Kamara.
In the letter, the Secretary General of the United Mineworkers Union, Mr. Ezekiel Dyke wrote for and on behalf of the United Mineworkers Union to issue a twenty-one-day strike ultimatum notice starting from the 14th of March to the 11th of April 2024. The ultimatum is due to the gross violation of the CBA and Employment Act of May 2023. Amongst a host of other violations and disregard is the failure to address issues affecting the interest and well-being of employees.
The Secretary-General also stated that another bone of contention is the egregious refusal to implement the working hours since the Employment Act was enacted in May. He added that Even though the Union had engaged the top management of the company times without a number through meetings, emails, and phone calls for over eight months, the management refused to adhere to and comply with their demands.
He continued that the payment of allowances and other remunerations such as Housing or rent allowance, out-of-station allowance, and relocation allowance are not forthcoming.
He added that the company had discontinued with the distribution of the 50kg bag of rice to employees for the past two months (January and February 2024). He said the last straw that broke the camel's back was the poor state and administration of the medical issuance which has compounded the poor medical conditions of the employees and their dependents.
The Secretary-General further stated that they believed in maintaining peaceful industrial relations through dialogue and negotiations, but the company ignored them.
He affirmed that the union's position is made clear, as the Secretary-General stated that if the company fails to adhere to its call and enforce all issues stated above, the employees would have no alternative but to institute a peaceful strike after April 11, 2024.
This strike injunction has led to the exoneration of key officials at Marampa Mining Ltd (MML). One key official believed to have been dismissed is Gianlorenzo Capitelli, the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of Marampa Mines Limited (MML). Madam Aminata Bangura, the supply chain department and procurement superintendent, had also been dismissed.
The dismissal of two senior officials at once has prone the company to a lot of controversies, sparking numerous questions amongst junior personnel of the company. According to reliable sources, the Chief Finance Officer, Gianlorenzo Capitelli, allegedly found working in a syndicate with the superintendent of the supply chain department, Madam Aminata Bangura, to extort extra money from the company for the supply of rice to the employees. When the cost of a bag of rice is seven hundred and fifty Leones (Nle 750), the superintendent of the supply chain department and procurement demands one thousand five hundred Leones (Nle 1,500) through the office of the Chief Finance Officer. At the end of every supply, the dividend is shared amongst top administrators. Whose name will be mentioned in our subsequent publication for public consumption.
This alliance operated successfully until the cat was let out of the bag when the price of rice recently increased. To boost their normal pastime, the alarm rose. Sources have it that the superintendent of the supply chain department and procurement prices the bag of rice at two thousand leones (Nle 2,000.00).
The rice saga has brought a lot of animosities to Marampa Mines Limited (MML). Today, the people of Marampa Chiefdom have learned that the security company "Mafia" is owned by the former CFO Gianlorenzo Capitelli. "John e Palm oil troway Na John e Garrie" foreign experts making a huge turn of dollars at the detriment of the locals what a shame.
More prominent names are on the list of investigations. The Director of Community Relations and Development, Prof. Sheiak Umar Kamarah, is allegedly another character hovering over the rice saga. The question that comes to mind is, what does a company's Director of Community Relations and Development have to do with rice procurement and distribution? Sources have it that he has told the company about his intention to resign, but the company has put his resignation on hold until the investigations are completed.
We are still in the monitoring mood as the twenty-one-day ultimatum strike is in progress and as the resignations and sackings of senior staff and officials continue at Marampa Mines Limited (MML).
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