By Lawrence Thomas ( Waterloo Resident)

Not only dirt, rubbish, pollution is seen on Freetown’s coastal beaches but also a potential destruction by overseas fishing investors and investments.

One particular investment is government’s biggest investment on the Black Johnson Beach to build there a $55 million mega-fish harbour by China, a grant by China given to the Government of Sierra Leone.

Government of Sierra Leone has lately announced eviction notices to land-owning families to abandon the community in Western -Area Rural district, Black Johnson.

The fisheries and marine resources ministry announced in 2021 that it would compensate the aggrieved landowners of Black Johnson.

Later aggrieved land owners were confirmed being paid compensations but most may still not be happy over government compensation proposal even if they are paid ten fold over what they bought the land for.

A group of citizens including aggrieved landowners of Black Johnson, civil society groups like Namati, ILRAJ, had been expressing their  strongest disapproval of a China-Sierra Leone fish harbour investment plans at the Black Johnson beach.

They argued the riverine is a lagoon which hosts plenty smaller fish and that greener environment is important for the survival of Sierra Leone’s pristine coastal beaches.

Such a similar project was denied continuation in Gambia by citizens, banning the Chinese fishing investors whose fish harbour had destroyed Gambia’s many marine species, according to an online video documentary.

Equally so, many Sierra Leoneans are still not in full support of the Black Johnson fish harbour agreement signed between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Sierra Leone Government.

They say it will have huge environmental costs, resulting to the loss of plenty fish and marine species and on the destruction of Sierra Leone’s finest beaches around the rural peninsula.