Kilembe updates
allafrica.com
When President Museveni arrives in Kasese today to celebrate 27 years since he took over power, the public will be looking for signs of government's commitment to revive Kilembe Mines Limited (KML), a company that once defined the region.
Many people in Kasese have waited for KML, the copper company that was once a beacon of hope for much of western Uganda, to reopen after it collapsed more than 30 years ago. That wait, however, could soon come to an end after court made a crucial ruling on a case that was part of a wider stumbling block to plans to reopen KML. The commercial court on Friday dismissed a case in which a Canadian company, CANAF Group, sought a court order to block the ongoing privatization of Kilembe Mines Limited.
CANAF, which was formally known as Uganda Gold Mining Ltd, through its lawyers MMAKS advocates, had also asked court to order both the Attorney General and KML to enforce an order which necessitated Uganda Gold Mining to re-enter Kilembe Mines, seven years after abandoning the site. Uganda Gold Mining had also presented a claim of $15m (roughly Shs 40bn) as out of court settlement to drop interest in copper mines.
Justice Christopher Madrama Izama in his ruling said, "The order sought would interfere with the privatization process prescribed by Parliament on the basis of an agreement to which the government is not party. The state is entitled to carry out the privatization process under the Public Enterprises Reform and Divestiture Act cap 98 laws of Uganda." He dismissed the case with costs.
Commenting on the ruling, the Privatisation Unit Spokesperson, Jim Mugunga, said that as a department of government, they were elated by the judgment.
"We now look forward to ensuring a speedy divestiture of Kilembe Copper Mines. This long-standing case has been one of the major stumbling blocks hindering revamping Kilembe Mines. Yes there have been frustrations and the President has openly voiced his concerns."
Mugunga noted that Uganda would have lost almost Shs 40bn if the PU had not taken precaution on the case. "Given well- documented incidents where government has persistently lost cases, it is refreshing to note that some public servants still have what it takes to save taxpayers' money," he observed.
Museveni, while recently addressing the NRM Members of Parliament at Kyankwanzi, blamed "timid political elements and indifferent, if not compromised civil servants" for the delays to revamp and upgrade Kilembe Mines.
Meanwhile, in a related development the Cabinet Subcommittee on Privatisation, the Divestiture Reform and Implementation Committee (DRIC), has approved a list of five shortlisted bidders for Kilembe Mines Ltd and recommended them to proceed to the final stage of the divestiture process.
The bidders, who will now be required to submit detailed technical and financial proposals, are Sino-Steel (China), Tibet-Hima Group (China), Konkola Copper Mines PLC (Zambia), Shree Minerals (Australia) and Gingko Energy Investments Co. (China).
newvision.co.ug
A short list of five international companies out of nine which expressed interest in investing in Kilembe Mines Limited has been recommended to proceed to the final stage of the privatisation process following a one-month procurement evaluation exercise.
New Vision has learnt that the international tender process, which has now entered the final Request For Proposal Stage (RFP), will only feature Gingko Energy Investments (China), Sino-Steel Ltd (China), Tibet- Hima (China), Shree Minerals (Australia) and Konkola Copper Mines of Zambia.
The consortiums that failed to make the grade, according to sources, are Shimuk Investments (Uganda); Wharton Asset Management (UK); Springwood Capital (UK) and Kombat Copper of Canada.
Jim Mugunga, the Ministry of Finance spokesman refused to neither confirm nor deny the shortlist when contacted. He said whereas the process is being expedited and an evaluation process has been completed, “there are internal reporting mechanisms which need to be adhered to before we go public with the details.”
Mugunga confirmed, however, that under the process; only shortlisted bidders will be entitled to receive the RFP and participate in the bid preparation stage.
He reaffirmed that there are clear instructions from the Government to expedite the process so that mining activities are revamped in Kilembe and that the Privatisation Unit is working towards achieving that goal.
“We are all desirous of ensuring that this transaction is progressed as fast as possible while adhering to established guidelines and the related laws,” he said.
Mugunga clarified that despite existence of multiple government entities and committees involved in the divestiture process of Kilembe in compliance with the set guidelines, they are all “cognizant of the need to remove unnecessary bureaucratic barriers to investments; speed up to tap into the improved current global prices of copper, as well as work towards playing a positive role in the broader government initiative for both industrialisation and minerals’ processing.”
The privatisation process for Kilembe Mines is expected to be completed by May this year. |
