The Minister of State for Investment and Privatization Evelyn Anite has given details of how a deal that was being negotiated with a Chinese investor failed.
Uganda was in the process of negotiating a contract for Tibet-Hima, the Concessionaire for Kilembe Miles. But on the advice of Minister Anite, President Yoweri Museveni ended the negotiations after the Chinese investor made unacceptable demands.
When Parliament’s Committee of Natural Resources recently summoned Minister Anite to explain why no investor was taking interest in the revival of Kilembe Mines in Kasese, she revealed that he had made unacceptable demands.
According to Minister Anite, the Chinese investor demanded to carry 30,000 metric tons of gold, copper and cobalt out of Uganda so that he could test these as samples in China.
She explained that there is no way they would have allowed the Chinese investor to take such a huge amount of copper, cobalt and gold to him to carry out of the country for testing.
“This contractor demanded of Government, that just for sample, he needed 30,000 metric tons of copper, cobalt and gold,” said Minister Anite.
“Just for sample. It was very wrong in the wisdom of the contractor to think that we could allow him take our God given natural resources to a magnitude of 30,000 metric tons and takes it as sample.”
Anite briefed President Museveni who also agreed that it was not prudent to give the Chinese investor the 30,000 metric tons of copper, cobalt and gold so he could fly them to Beijing for testing.
“The President said that these resources belong to Ugandans and the concessionaire Tibet-Hima said, ‘if that is the case, I will not continue with you’ and that is in the report of the winding up commission and we couldn’t allow to give them 30,000 metric tons of our natural resources, just to take as samples to China for testing,” Minister Anite further told the committee.
“It couldn’t make sense, not to the President, not to me, not anyone in Government, and therefore we refused and that was the point of departure.”
Minister Anite went on to reveal that they would later find out that the Chinese investor did not have what it takes to handle the mining business, thus they terminated the contract before he could go as far as taking Uganda’s resources for testing to China.
“We did due diligence and opened up and discovered that this company had no capacity and therefore, what Government did to contract this concessionaire was wrong. That is why we instituted the winding up commission and then terminated the contract,” she explained.
“That was the sign that the concessionaire wasn’t up to the contract. We lost jobs, we lost the concessionaire fees, and we lost the opportunity of revamping Kilembe Mines to its past glory. So it is financial, material, social and emotional loss to Government of Uganda.”
Meanwhile, Minister Anite is currently in trouble over shocking allegations regarding UIA payments to her hotel as The Pearl Times reported HERE.
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