Paper long abstract:

This paper will examine the views and perspectives of those communities who have remained marginal economically, socially and politically from the process of development in Sierra Leone. Mineral production here has always been perceived as an avenue for economic development, not least amongst those communities who have remained marginal in discussions on development. Yet diamonds and other minerals have not led to the development that many had hoped for. Poor management, increasing economic dependency on the export of primary commodities like diamonds and a heavy reliance on foreign investment has had a detrimental effect on development. Not only has this stifled economic changes but it has additionally had a distorting effect on more general socio-economic and political developments. Little has been done to utilise Sierra Leone’s mineral wealth for the betterment of wider civil society. Instead, much of this wealth has been squandered and misused by governments to buy political patronage and to add to the accumulation of personal wealth. Multinational mining companies, motivated by the pursuit of profit have done little to develop the economy or civil society beyond mineral extraction. In discussions on development (undertaken by governments, international financial institutions and mineral companies), those communities that have been on the receiving end of diamond production (either through living in a diamond producing area, through working in the industry or in some other capacity), have been conspicuous by their absence or have been the least regarded. Moreover, the lives and livelihoods of such groups and the way diamond production impacts are rarely taken account of in negotiations between government and mineral companies (International Institute for Environment and Development 2002). In documenting some of these ‘unheard voices’ we are at once attaching significance to their perspectives, their ‘truth’ and are acknowledging what is important to them. The theoretical framework that informs the approach used here is far removed from positivistic notions of neutrality and objectivity. Instead it adopts an approach that sees human agency as an important factor in articulating a critical perspective of, and challenge to, wider socio-economic and political forces.