Over Arise IIP Railway deal… Will Ex-Mines Minister Survive the Storm?
By VOS Writer
Questions has been asked as to who is responsible for what many has described as ‘surreptitious’ Railway deal the Government has entered into with Arise Industrial Platforms on January, 17th 2023 that did not have the blessing of Parliament.
Accusing fingers have now been pointed at the Ex-Mines Minister, Timothy Kabbah, for deceiving cabinet and the President to enter into an agreement with Arise IIP on the grounds that the company has come with better offer than its rival.
Report, however, states that the cabinet chaired by the President without going through details of the offer brought in the agreement by Arise IIP signed the agreement on the basis that it is in the best interest of the country. The rationale behind, according to report, is for creating level playing field for other iron ore mining companies to avoid a monopoly.
Intelligence also received by this Press revealed that Timothy Kabbah was at the forefront pilling pressure on cabinet to hastily sign the rail and port agreement with Arise IIP, without due diligence to terminate the Kingho contact; his intention has created the suspicion that something shady had been underneath that should be investigated by Parliament and the country’s anti-graft agency.The embattled Minister succeeded in hoodwinking the President and his cabinet into signing the new contract, but faced stumble block in Parliament because there was still an existing contract for the same purpose.
The new Minister of Mines, Julius Mattai, has publicly confirmed that the attempt made by his predecessor to hurriedly terminate the existing rail and port contract with Kingho to usher in Arise IIP did not follow due diligence, hence, the national embarrassment.
This entanglement of the Ex-Mines Minister has created the ding-dong battle between the two companies who were fighting to be the legitimate winner of the railway and port contract.
As a result of the disagreement between the two parties, a single document on the Railway Agreement was tabled in Parliament by the Minister of Transport and Aviation and after the agreement was sailed through in Parliament giving the ultimate authority to the Kingho Company to manage and expand the Railway corridor.
During the debating process of the Agreement, the Minority Leader of Parliament, Hon. Abdul Kargbo, craved the indulgence of the Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Dr. Abass Bundu, to file a motion in Parliament to investigate what had gone wrong that prompted the Government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources to enter into agreement with Arise Industrial Platforms related to the Management of the Pepel Railway and Port.
The Minority Leader intention to file a motion in Parliament was nurtured out of a growing concern that Arise IIP was unfairly treated in the railway agreement and in a bid to save the country’s from potential embarrassment and clear the misconceptions brewing the minds of investors, the Minority Leader has taken this bold step to clear the doubts.
“I shall be forwarding a motion In Parliament asking what had gone wrong that prompted the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources to enter into an Agreement with Arise IIP… The motion will look at which arms of Government that have treated the investors unfairly and that will serve as a precedent for investors to regain trust and confidence in doing business in Sierra Leone”.
