-Mittal Steel official clarifies
Allen P.Lablah, Sanniquellie, Liberia
There is growing sense of uneasiness among the people of Nimba County over reports that the subsidiary of the global steel giant, Arcelor Mittal Liberia was operating a specialized hospital/clinic for its experts but the company has denied the claim.
The Superintendent for local government affairs at Arcelor Mittal Liberia has clarified that there is no such medical facility in the mining town of Yekepa, where the company extracts iron ore from Mount Nimba/
Ambrose Gbormie, in an exclusive interview with the local community Radio in Nimba County’s provincial capital, Sanniquellei, Radio Sehnwai on Tuesday, he clarified that what is at the Yekepa mines is an emergency clinic intended to treat all Arcelor Mittal workers in terms of emergency cases.
Mr. Gbormie said the workers emergency clinic is being supervised by the Arcelor Mittal Hospital administrator based in Yekepa, in the event that there is any emergency case or treatment.
According to him, the Arcelor Mittal Hospital in Yekepa and the emergency clinic treat all Mittal workers despite of their status in the company.
The Mittal Steel official urged locals to understand that the safety of Arcelor Mittal workers is at the heart of the company’s interest and as such, the workers emergency clinic is to supplement the company’s hospital in protecting its staffers.
He disclosed that the Arcelor Mittal Hospital in Yekepa has two doctors, nurses and is equipped with medical supplies.
But the Acelor Mittal’s Superintendent for local government affairs admitted that in some cases, some medicines prescribed by the company’s hospital are sometimes not available at the hospital.
Recently, community dwellers most especially in Yekepa, explained on Radio Sehnwai Program ‘’Speak to the Region’’ that Arcelor Mittal Hospital in Yekepa concession area has now become a prescription center for the most affected community.
The citizens claimed that because of the specialized clinic now catering to the company staff the management careless to pay attention to the health needs of the order citizens in the concession community.
Yekepa is one of the nineteen communities within Yarmein Administrative District with only one Arcelor Mittal Hospital, one government clinic and three private clinics catering to over 13,000. 000 inhabitants.