By VOS Ariogbo Writer
Following the Pepel and Railway agreement signed between the Government of Sierra Leone and Arise IIP on January 17th, 2023, the Leader of the Opposition(APC) in Parliament, Hon. Abdul Kargbo, has craved the indulgence of the Speaker of Parliament, Dr. Abass Bundu, to file a motion in Parliament to investigate what had gone wrong that warranted 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.
“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”, he said, adding how he is taking that venture for investors not to nurture any misconceptions and to regain investors trust and confidence in doing business in Sierra Leone”.
Added to that, Hon. Kargbo, maintained he will be tabling the motion to ensure that any investors who are unfairly treated by any arms of government should get Justice, and that whoever that is found culpable should not be left to go scot free, but action should be instituted.
Relying on section 40 of the 1991 Constitution, Hon. Abdul Kargbo, further revealed that any agreement that has not been ratified by Parliament is not a substantial agreement.
He also shed light on what an investor should do before investing in any country, further revealing that investors do not only come to invest in a country without doing any assessment to know what is obtaining in their areas of investment.
He also spoke about the challenge of the foreign exchange rate, which according to him, is anchored around the limited foreign direct investment and prayed for more investors to come and invest in Sierra Leone.
He concluded by throwing his support to the ratification of Kingho Railway Agreement, noting that “What we are doing here is Parliamentary because there is only one document before this house related to the Pepel and Railway Agreement”.
