Sierra Leone’s Wealth Leaves by Rail
By Musa Paul Feika
Sierra Leone is a nation rich in natural resources iron ore, diamonds, bauxite, and more but for the average citizen, abundance rarely translates into prosperity. While trains rumble across the country carrying iron ore and mining byproducts to ports, the communities along the tracks watch fertile land turn to wasteland, jobs remain scarce, and opportunities slip away. The stark contrast between Sierra Leone’s wealth beneath the ground and the persistent poverty above it tells a story of missed opportunity, weak governance, and exploitative foreign interests.
This reality became painfully evident during my recent journey to Bumbuna Town, where I observed a functioning railway system not designed to serve people or agriculture, but rather to ferry iron ore and mining waste for the benefit of foreign companies. The railway, operated in conjunction with Leone Rock Mining Group (LRMG), is primarily used by Chinese nationals to transport raw ore to export points. Local residents raise troubling questions about the materials being exported. What is often dismissed as “mining waste” may contain valuable minerals that are not accounted for in official contracts
potentially siphoning wealth away from Sierra Leone without public knowledge or oversight.
The economic implications are significant. The government loses potential revenue from undisclosed minerals, and communities lose the ability to benefit from resources under their feet. But the crisis extends beyond finance. Environmental degradation is severe. Large open pits left by mining operations render farmland unusable, threaten food security, and endanger public health. Families that once relied on fertile land for sustenance and income now face abandoned wastelands, often without compensation or recourse.
The question arises: why has Sierra Leone allowed this pattern to persist? A key issue is the lack of strategic vision in resource management. Governments should demand more than extraction they should require foreign companies to add value locally. For example, iron ore could be processed domestically into steel, creating jobs, developing skills, and laying the foundation for industrial growth. Instead, raw materials leave the country while unemployment and poverty remain entrenched.
Sierra Leone is not unique in facing the “resource curse,” but examples from other African nations demonstrate the possibilities of bold leadership. Burkina Faso’s President, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, has earned attention for policies prioritizing domestic production over foreign charity. When presented with proposals to build mosques funded by foreign donors, he reportedly responded that his country needed factories not more buildings underscoring the principle that development must be rooted in productivity, not symbolism.
Sierra Leone, by contrast, continues to export raw minerals, including potentially untapped resources, without requiring meaningful local industrialisation. This approach reflects short-term thinking, weak oversight, and leadership that too often prioritizes personal or political gain over the national interest. It is not a lack of wealth that holds the country back
it is poor governance, inadequate regulatory enforcement, and failure to plan for the long-term.
To reverse this trajectory, Sierra Leone must adopt a new mindset. Mining contracts need transparency, strict environmental safeguards must be enforced, and industrialisation should be prioritized over raw material export. Citizens must demand accountability and insist that the nation’s resources serve public development, not external profit.
Until these changes occur, Sierra Leone’s future will continue to depart on trains loaded with its own wealth
leaving communities impoverished, land degraded, and opportunities unrealized. The country’s riches should not merely pass through its borders; they should be transformed into a foundation for sustainable development, economic empowerment, and generational prosperity
