Sierra Leoneans at home and the world over are being embarrassed by the way the Bio-government has handled the termination of the Leone Rock Metal Group’s seven-year lease agreement, with the disgraceful news trending around globally.
The Leone Rock Metal Group Kingho operated the Pepel-Tonkolili Railway and Port, which has been halted.
The Government of Sierra Leone under the failed leadership of President Julius Maada Bio and Mineral Resources Minister, Ing. Musa Timothy Kabba has destroyed foreign investors’ confidence and trust in Sierra Leone.
While Maada Bio has continued to step on big toes such as the People’s Republic of China’s Leone Rock Metal Group-Kingho, a mining company which has been contributing to feeding the coffers of government, the globetrotting president’s cloud on the horizon is the presidential polls in June 24 this year, in which he has to contest on the ticket of the increasingly unpopular Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP).
Now, the breach of the lease agreement with the Chinese company by the line ministry of mines under Ing. Musa Timothy Kabba, has gone a long way in annoying multinational investors in the country and beyond that have intentions to invest in Sierra Leone.
The mines ministry allegedly cancelled the agreement of Leone Rock – one of the biggest and few foreign investors in the country operating the port and rail facility at Pepel and in Tonkolili – on the legal advice of the Justice Ministry.
The unfriendly investment atmosphere precipitated by bad tax policies, coupled with flagrant violations and total disregard for rules and procedures as well as international best practices, keep letting many foreign investors and their business entities shy away from Sierra Leone, especially on receiving news of abuse of companies like Leone Rock Metal Group, Kingho’s seven-year lease agreement for the Pepel-Tonkolili Railway and Port.
The latest harsh decision to terminate the Leone Rock Metal deal by the powers that be, has sent shockwaves across the world and has painted Sierra Leone’s business image in bad light as it will severe government’s relations with foreign direct investments or investors.
Such dubious deal is widely criticised and described as unethical, since Leone Rock Metal Group (Kingho)’s seven-year lease agreement was signed with the Government of Sierra Leone in 2021, to operate, manage and provide maintenance to the 192-kilometre railway facility.
Government through the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources disrespectfully disregarded the pact with the Chinese investors, as they have dumped it and has brought in a third party, ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (ARISE IIP) and on January 17 2023 signed a lease with ARISE IPP.
The agreement grants the sole rights to ARISE IIP to operate the Pepel -Tokolili Railway and Port, having received ill and deceitful legal advice offered government and President Bio by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohamed L. Tarawallie Esq, to end the LRMG-Kingho seven-year lease agreement with the Government of Sierra Leone. And the Chinese company can only utilize the facility by way of contracting ARISE IIP’s services. LRMG-Kingho, in other words, is being baked in its own oven, having been edged out for the incompetent and less equipped ARISE IIP.
The ARISE IIP deal was selfishly done for the benefit of few pro-SLPP members and their financers against the developmental wishes and aspirations of the citizenry. It is also not of any mutual benefit to the country as the agreement is directly aimed at exploiting the iron ore mineral wealth of the country and end up leaving communities in the operations area in environmental ruins and wretched poverty.
As at last evening, no reason was announced for the abrupt and disgraceful cancellation of the LRMG -Kingho’s seven-year lease agreement and for the bringing in of the shady third party ARISE IIP, after few years of the Chinese company’s operations.
LRMG-Kingho made huge capital investments in the Tonkolili-Pepel Railway and Port during its short period of management, operations and was at advanced stage of expansion works when their lease was rudely terminated, by the Government of Sierra Leone against the interests of the government of the People’s Republic of China.
The writer is made to understand that the Bio-led SLPP rule brought in ARISE IIP to complete all the remaining works. But ARISE IIP absolutely lacks the capacity in railway and port work. And in the wake of such unprofessional conducts of the government, massive exploitations and environmental damages to communities of operations are the much-expected coming events.
In fact, communities in ARISE IIP’s countries of operations – including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tchad, Rwanda, Cote D’ Ivoire, Benin and elsewhere in Nigeria, before surfacing in Sierra Leone – are currently faced with damning environmental challenges occasioned by mining, deforestation, and exploitation of natural resources. Hence Sierra Leone should be ready for its fair share of the bitter experiences from would be ARISE IPP operations.
Thus, the much talked-about employment opportunities are far from the realities because citizens of the aforesaid countries are always searching for job in other countries in the world.
The ARISE IIP agreement is therefore not a win-win deal at all as it was not signed in the best interest of Sierra Leoneans but for the few ruling SLPP members, supporters, President Bio and his close allies.
The ulterior motives of the government allies is the more reason there are calls from everywhere in the country and beyond for complete reversal and review of the said lease agreement for the general good, and to prevent the ugly development of bad work and embarrassment of the country amid trending public and international criticisms.
Besides, LRMG Kingho Chinese investors are certainly not bad business partners.
The fact that Sierra Leone won’t want to be globally known for perpetual frustrations of foreign investment, the Government must act now urgently to save the nation from further global scandals, for so much was done in the last fifteen years by the previous political administration to raise investors’ confidence, which we as a nation must not forego at all.
