It has emerged that Kingho Mining Company, now known as Leone Rock Metals, is to pay over fifty million dollars to the Government of Sierra Leone as compensation for damages caused on the Railway and Ports.
It can be recalled that Kingho Mining was exclusively managing, controlling and operating the railway and ports as part of a lease agreement signed between the company and the Government of Sierra Leone.
One of the terms of agreement in the said lease, mandated the company to develop and expand the railway and ports.
Sadly however, Kingho Mining Company, as usual, is said to have not only failed to develop and expand the rail and ports but went as far as doing a lot of damage to the infrastructure its met.
This is said to be the reason the company is now embarking on what seems to be a blackmailing spree against the government of Sierra Leone.
Kingho’s blackmailing spree, according to investigation, is done as a way of dodging the huge compensation it will have to pay when an independent evaluation shall have been done on the rail.
A clause in the lease agreement with Kingho clearly states that upon termination of the lease, an independent evaluation must be done on the rail to determine the investment done on it which will be compensated in cash or kind by the new operator.
The agreement further states that, where the company failed to develop and expand the rail, an independent evaluation shall also be done to determine the level of damage and compensation owed to the government.
Kingho had earlier claimed to have invested over 200 million dollars on the development and expansion of the rail.
This claim, according to evaluation experts, is not only preposterous, but a complete show of dishonesty on the part of the Kingho Mining Company.
It could be recalled that, this is not the first time Kingho Mining is embroil in such situations.
Between 2011 to 2018, the company accrued way over ten million dollars in evaded taxes to government for the numerous licences it held at the time.
It is not surprising however that the same company is once again orchestrating its usual shenanigans to dodge the whooping sums owed to the Government for the damages done on the Rail and Ports.
Investigation continues…
