US Calls On Sierra Leone Government For Transparency In Pepel Rail, Port Tender.
By Ferdinand Olise
The United States Ambassador to Sierra Leone, David Bryan Hunt, has urged the government to conduct an open and transparent public tender process for the management of the Pepel Rail, and Port infrastructure to ensure that the most responsive bidder with the best offer would be selected to operate the facility.
In an interview on Sierra Epic Radio, 25 October, 2023, Ambassador Hunt stressed the importance of making a sensible decision that will not only maximise revenue generation for the country, but also ensure fair competition, and equitable access to the facility for all stakeholders, including mining and agricultural companies.
Meanwhile, Marampa Mines Limited (MML), Sierra Leone, has expressed concerns about China’s Kingho Mining Company’s monopoly of the rail and port infrastructure, and the potential problematic loopholes in Kingho’s proposed 20-year lease agreement with the government of Sierra Leone.
Despite the rail infrastructure’s 20 million metric tonne capacity, Kingho has only exported less than 5 million tonnes between 2022, and August 2023, while granting minimal 10% access of to MML, and other mining and agricultural companies for transhipment purposes.
Meanwhile, MML states that Kingho specifically targeted Marampa Mines to sell its products to them, thereby threatening to restrict their use of the facility if they fail to comply.
Additionally, MML highlighted a critical omission in the new Kingho’s lease agreement, as the provision allowing the Government of Sierra Leone to engage another third-party rail and port operator has been entirely removed from the proposed 20-year lease agreement with Kingho.
The company argued that, current clause 2.03 in the 2021 lease agreement where GoSL has the express right to engage another third party rail and port operator has been removed from the draft Lease entirely.
In the proposed new clause 2.03 of the Lease, Kingho undertakes granting access to the rail and port to third parties, with a minimal access requirement being set at 10% of the existing capacity, which means that, if Kingho utilises 8 million tons per annum capacity, they only need to allow 800 thousand tons to third parties.
This 10% minimum of actual capacity proposed by Kingho is entirely insufficient to meet MML’s needs, let alone those of other mining and agricultural companies which will only fetter the growth not only of MML but all other contemplated industries.
This minimum threshold amount effectively renders any ability of MML to use the rail as meaningless. This is a clear attempt by Kingho to effectively privatise the national assets of Sierra Leone for its sole benefit.
