MPs probe cancellation of Chinese mining company's contract 

Parliament’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources has started probing how the operations of Tibet Hima Mining Company in Kasese District, Western Uganda were suspended. 

Early this month, the Minister of State for Privatization and Investment, Ms Evelyn Anite, announced that Uganda had ended its contract with Tibet-Hima, the concessionaire for Kilembe Mines, following demands from the Chinese investor to export 30,000 metric tons of gold, copper, and cobalt as samples for testing in China.
Anite made the remarks while appearing before the Committee where she was summoned to explain the slow progress in reviving Kilembe Mines in Kasese District.

“This contractor demanded that the Government allows him to take 30,000 metric tons of copper, cobalt, and gold just for sampling. It was unreasonable for the contractor to think we would allow such a significant amount of our natural resources to leave the country,” Anite explained.
As a result, the committee members led by their chairperson, Mr Herbert Edmund Ariko visited the Chinese owned company on Tuesday. 

At the time of cancellation, the company which entered a concession with the government of Uganda for a period of 25 years to mine copper and other minerals around Kilembe mines, had been in operation for about 18 months.
The owners say they had injected over Shs690 billion to purchase equipment and rehabilitation of the mines that were opened up in the early 1950s.
They are now seekiing to be reinstated into operations, despite having running legal battles in court. 

Mr Ariko, said they are in Kilembe to investigate the matter so that their report comes out objectively before it’s tabled on the floor of Parliament.
The other committee members, including Muhamad Ssentaayi of Bukoto Central, Ssemwanga Gyaviira of Buyamba County, and Geoffrey Feta, the Deputy Chairperson of the committee said they had seen some substantial investment made by Tibet but their report would have the details. 

Meanwhile, Mr Ronald Evans Kanyike, the MP for Bukoto East and Charles Tebandeke of Bbaale County, said the matter of Tibet and Kilembe should be handled with care because it touches the livelihoods of people but also a matter that involves investors who should be cared for. 

The committee is set to meet the leadership of the Kasese district and warring parties to try and find a lasting solution which has seen the operations of Kilembe Mines stalled leading to a loss of generation of funds.

Genesis of Parliamentary Probe
The Parliamentary inquiry was initiated following a petition by Solomon Silwany (Bukooli Central) in April 2024, which requested an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the termination of Tibet-Hima Mining Company’s contract to manage, rehabilitate, and operate Kilembe Mines for 25 years.
According to Silwany, the Government failed to meet its obligations under the agreement, resulting in Tibet-Hima Mining Company incurring losses of $980 million (Shs3.581 trillion) between 2014 and 2017.

Silwany told Parliament, “The petitioner paid Shs4.2 billion to the government, directly employed 822 Ugandans, purchased equipment worth $22 million (Shs80.411 billion), and committed $183.5 million (Shs 676.187 billion) to future investments in resuming copper ore production from Kilembe Mines.”

Tibet-Hima Ltd cited several grievances against the Ugandan Government, including the failure to hand over the Kilembe Mines site within nine months of the contract signing and the Government’s decision to reduce the concession period from 25 to 15 years, ultimately leading to contract termination despite Tibet-Hima’s preparations for mining activities, including upgrading operational facilities and de-watering underground mines.