By Mabinty M. Kamara
There are strong indications that Arise IIP, the company building the industrial zone in Sierra Leone is about to institute legal action against the government of Sierra Leone after the latter terminated their agreement for the running of the Pepel rail and Ports.
Politico understands that a letter of notice may be delivered to the government of President Julius Maada Bio soon.
After weeks of discussions and speculations about who has legal rights to the Pepel Rail and Port network facility involving two investors, Sierra Leone’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice has in a Press Conference last week said that Leone Rock Mineral is now the contracting company.
The Minister Mohamed Lamin Tarawallie admitted to Journalists at Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel in Freetown about a contractual agreement between the governments and Arise IIP over the Port and Rail but said that there were certain conditions that could have been met to make the agreement fully enforceable. However, he said the conditions which he did not explain to the press were not met nor was there any communication with the government of Sierra Leone in that regard.
“There is no evidence from Arise to show that we took steps to implement those conditions’ precedents. And that agreement is saying, in the event the other side that is the liaison could not satisfy those conditions’ precedents, in the agreement before the satisfaction date, they can waive their rights in writing, and up to this time as we sit here, there is no evidence of that,” he said, adding that “the assertion date of that agreement to trigger the enforcement of that agreement was the 9th of July this year and up to this moment, there has never been any communication between us and Arise.”
In that regard, he said the government cannot continue to be deprived of the required revenue to facilitate the livelihood of the country; hence, they had to award another investor Leone Rock Minerals formerly Kingho. “And now, because of those conditions’ precedent that were never satisfied, the agreement by mutual consent has come to an end,” he said.
In his statement, Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Julius Mattai Ph.D. explained that the 192-kilometre rail network which he described as a narrow gauge single track was constructed by the African Minerals Agency to ease the transportation of their mining products to the market. He said the current rail gauge in question is 762 mm, noting that a standard gauge which is used for passenger rail and other light transportation is 1435 mm. Therefore, he said the Pepel rail track is not fit for a passenger train, saying that using the facility for a passenger train would be like embarking on a suicide mission. He added that he was part of a technical team that went on a due diligence visit to both Leone Rock and ARISE. However, he said Arise is more versatile in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) business but does not have a record in managing port and rail businesses.
He added that the country relies on its mining revenues, saying that the total gold export last year was about 5.6 million dollars while Diamond was 143 million dollars for both artisanal and large-scale mining proceeds. Imported rutile, ilmenite, and related mineral exports accounted for 169 million dollars and bauxite about 32 to 33 million dollars.
The train service was part of ARISE’s Special Economic Zone (SEZ) package for Sierra Leone. The SEZ according to officials at the launch comprised a Special Industrial Zone in Koya Chiefdom, Port Loko District.
Speaking at the launch of the company’s Special Industrial Zone (SIZ) on Thursday 26 April this year in Koya chiefdom, the Logistics Value Chain Director, ARISE IIP Jesper Boll said that the train is already on its way to Sierra Leone.
“An industry needs people. This is why we are bringing a passenger train into Sierra Leone that would transport passengers and the workforce between the provinces. The train is ready and it’s on the way to Sierra Leone,” he said.
He added that it is only by integrating the rail network with the Pepel Port and Koya SIZ that Sierra Leone will uncover its true potential.
President Julius Maada Bio at the Launch said that the initial $300 million US Dollar investment in the Koya SIZ will be in addition to the almost $500 million US Dollars ARISE will invest in the port and rail network.
He added that it is expected that the immediate net impact of the investment is the creation of 9,000 direct jobs in the Koya area in addition to the 5,000 new jobs that the company will create in the extended port and rail network.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (01/11/23)
