By Alusine Fullah

Four government officials, Chernor Bah, Minister of Information and Civic Education; Mohamed Lamin Tarawalley, Attorney General and Minister of Justice; Alhaji Fanday Turay, Minister of Transport and Aviation; and Julius Mattai, Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources  have updated a battery of journalists on the Rail and Port Agreement.

Speaking on the legal framework of the agreement, the Minister of Justice, Mohamed Lamin Trawalley, he disclosed to journalists that the government of Sierra Leone has signed an agreement for the Rail and Port with Kingho Rail and Port. According to the minister, the agreement was signed by the S/L cabinet.

When journalists put it to him, Attorney General and Minister of Justice about the allegations of termination and cancellation of ARISE IIP contract he responded that: “The government of Sierra Leone did sign an agreement with ARISE IIP Company, but ARISE failed to satisfy the terms and conditions in the contract. Government did not terminate or either cancel the contract, the contract terminated itself/ mutually terminated…”

The minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Julius Mattai told journalists that the Rail and Port was in total ruins until Kingho came and invested over $100 million to revamp the Rail and Port. He went further to state that the decision taken by the government is in the best interest of the country.

Social media and main stream media have since last week been awash with a seeming conflict between two private entities that are friends of Sierra Leone, over the use of the rail track situated in the Port Loko, Tonkolili District of the country. ARISE IIP is a private investment entity that has been given a contract to develop the Sierra Leone Economic Investment Zone, and other areas.

However, this component of their planned investment has some snags as the rail track which they intend to use for the passenger trains is subject to clearance by the previous owners of the track, Kingho. Kingho is another private company of Chinese origin, had developed the rail track running from Tonkolili to Pepel in Port Loko District, and Kingho has been using it for transporting their iron ore to the seaport of Pepel for eventual exporting to China.

According to the Mining and Mineral Act of 2009 as amended in 2022, section 56 talks about cancellation of license from to mineral miner. It states: “the minister may cancel a license on the recommendation of the Board and, as prescribed based on documented evidence that a holder:

1. Grossly violates health and safety laws and regulations or otherwise causes dander to life, property or the environment
2. Employs or makes use of child labour.