Deal #2371

The Paramount Chief promised the company the fullest support of the people of Malen as the initiative was meant to bring about the felt needs of development activities to the war-torn chiefdom; however in April 2012 people complained about Socfin's lease at a meeting organized by the OI. The government transferred the land to the company with a whole host of unresolved issues. Land lease signed by MAFFS for land in Malen Chiefdom, and then subleased to Socfin Agricultural Company. "The Malen Youth Development Union (MAYODA) on 20 May 2017 issued a 21-day ultimatum for the General Manager of Socfin Agriculture Company, Philip Tonks, and the Plantation Manager, Gordon Peterson, to be transferred, before the 9 June 2017 due to abuses meted against workers of the oil palm plantation and failure to fulfill development promises." The agricultural minister- Prof. Monty Jones- has called for a review of the lease (June 2017). It is not clear whether a review of the lease was actually undertaken, but it is clear that the investor was still operating on the land in 2019 and as far as we can tell, the plantation is still operational as at 2021.