After dedicating 121 newly built and renovated homes
Monrovia, Liberia – Old mud housing units have started to be demolished by Salala Rubber Corporation (SRC) in order to build long-lasting two-bedroom concrete houses for its employees. The plan is part of a larger pledge to workers to build and refurbish over 500 homes in 24 months to improve the quality of life, according to Jeety Rubber, the new owner of SRC.
The initiative coincides with Jeety Rubber’s focus on addressing the Earthworm Foundation report, which detailed numerous unresolved social issues, including poor living conditions under Socfin, a multinational corporation based in Luxembourg that owned and ran SRC for more than ten years until August 2024.
“As a company, our goal is to address whatever structural issues the Earthworm report identified during the time of Socfin through a phased and systematic approach, today, the demolition exercise is in that direction. We are going to replace these mud houses that have been here for ages with durable two-bedroom concrete homes that are spacious enough,” business tycoon Upjit Singh Sachdeva, CEO of Jeety Conglomerate said.
Dr. Upjit Singh Sachdeva, CEO of Jeety Conglomerate
The primary cause of the employees’ long-standing complaints against SRC has been housing. A violent demonstration erupted in June 2024 amid elevated tensions, corporate properties were set on fire and looted, ultimately prompting Socfin to cease operations and leave.
Poor housing units and social services were among the years’ worth of unaddressed social and infrastructure issues left by Socfin that Jeety Rubber promised to address in the purchase deal. The corporation has relocated hundreds of employees from Camps 1 and 2 to 121 freshly constructed and refurbished housing units as part of this commitment.
The muddy huts had been occupied by some of the workers who had been moved. Each of the newly constructed and refurbished two-bedroom concrete apartments offers a more safe and comfortable living environment because they are made to be weather-resistant and long-lasting.
“The most important asset we have as a company is our workers, so their well-being, especially where they live, has always been our priority. We remain committed to ensuring that all workers in the nine camps have access to durable housing units in the 24-month time frame. We have promised and we are working hard to get there without any excuse with the period we have set to come,” Sachdeva said.
As part of its strategy for SRC, Jeety Rubber has announced and started a number of initiatives to raise workers’ standard of living in general. These include the offer of $10,000 for scholarships, the donation of a top-notch ambulance, and the completion of improvements to the SRC health center and school system, which were among the numerous badly managed facilities inherited.
All 12th graders passed the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, a remarkable accomplishment never achieved before in the company’s history. This was made possible by the clinic’s well-equipped labs, qualified doctors, and staff, as well as the fact that all of the schools, including the high school, had access to running water, electricity, and a modernized science lab.
Borehole water systems, power, and free Starlink internet service are among the other unfinished projects. These initiatives are a component of Jeety Rubber’s larger strategy to update social services in each of the nine labor camps. The borehole water system will guarantee that all camps have access to clean and safe drinking water, the electricity will enhance living conditions and allow access to modern amenities that were previously unavailable in the camps, and the Starlink service will give workers and their families high-speed internet access.
“We inherited a company that left behind years of unresolved social and infrastructural problems, and so our main goal is to solve these problems. While we aim for profitability, we at the same time work to improve social services for workers, and that includes improving their living conditions,” Sachdeva said.
Although they hope the difficulties will be resolved swiftly, SRCworkers are praising the corporation for its dedication to tackling the remaining concerns from the previous administration. They remark that the speed at which SRC’s new management is building new residences and remodeling existing ones gives promise for better times to come, demonstrating their commitment to the welfare of its employees.
To ensure that every worker has a house with improved access to social services, workers hope that the housing projects and all other outstanding measures can be completed quickly.
“For years, we lived in fear of the rainy season, worrying about the roof collapsing. Now, we have a safe and comfortable place to live, but it is our hope that these projects can be fast-tracked. A lot of workers are in need of housing,” the workers said.
“Still, what we are seeing from the new SRC management is a genuine commitment to solving all the long issues that existed under the previous management. We applaud them for the work being done as we look forward to seeing all the legacy issues solved,” they continued.
