Tonkolili, in the North of Sierra Leone, is about to get an overhaul of its infrastructure and environs. This district of Sierra Leone has become the focus of world attention and the envy of many who just cannot grasp the reality of African Minerals discovering a huge amount of Iron Ore deposit said to be the largest the world has ever seen. Tonkolili has a population of 365,465. The district occupies a total area of 7,003 km² and comprises eleven Chiefdoms. Residents in this mineral haven are bracing themselves for the biggest investment in the country’s mining industry.

On the outskirts of Freetown viewing the amazing landscape and beautiful scenery the coastline of Sierra Leone has to offer, Frank Timis, the Chairman of African Minerals, must be contemplating the future and pondering over the long-term strategy of the company he worked hard to protect amidst all negative speculation and media offensive. A lot of media organisations have tried, albeit in vain, to use the not-hidden past of this master in business administration, to try and distort his present business dealings with the Sierra Leone government and other Asian entities. Frank Timis knows too well that success can only be bounded on honesty and this Romanian success story has done everything to shred his past and embrace a transparent approach to doing business.

Timis knows too well the consequences of the past and the mistakes that had nearly cost him his fortune, and as a businessman he understands that he now has a golden opportunity to re-write the wrongs of the past and position his company for a new life in the mining world of Africa. The continent offers Timis something different. Sierra Leone in particular is famous for its infectious hospitality and the calm and tranquil aura the Atlantic ocean depicts can only provide recluse that is second to none. The country’s Head of State, Ernest Bai Koroma has maintained a corrupt-free environment that has attracted a massive flow of foreign investment into the economy.

Timis has come to recognise that it is important to develop the environment you work in and has taken the plight of the Tonkolili people very seriously and knows that by helping the district, he would win hearts to secure the necessary man-power that he needed to provide a constructive workforce for his African Minerals. One of the most important shortfalls facing the people of this area is transportation, and to ease this burden on the people, Timis has embarked on a project to resuscitate the railway infrastructure that had long been out of use. This railway to Port Pepel with an extension to deeper waters at Tagrin Point would be about 150km long. The railway would be open access to all users. Frank Timis has also seen the need for a healthy and viable community and has rolled out plans to build new medical facilities in the region that will cater for those who sometimes have to travel long journeys in order to get hospital treatment.

In his quest to get things right this time round, Timis has also realized that those who will be engaging in mineral production for the company, would need to send their children to school and as such has catered for first-class educational institution not only to serve the offsprings of his work force but the wider community as well. Timis is keen on the welfare of the people and has donated huge amounts of money towards several charitable work across the country. Timis’ past cannot be used to overshadow the present. Those who make attempt to tarnish his good name and try to sabotage his company’s interests because of their own personal interests, or for commercial reasons, should hang their heads in shame as the future can only be bright for a man who has never been shy to take full responsibility of his actions – an important quality that most people don’t seem to have!



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