ACB concludes mining licence bribery probe
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it has finished investigations into the alleged bribery on the renewal of licence of Illomba Granite Mine in Chitipa.
Some civil society members, including Natural Resources Justice Network, petitioned ACB to probe the matter.
In an interview on Tuesday, ACB director general Martha Chizuma said the probe is now concluded and a report will be presented soon.
A recorded voice and phone-call clips in November 2019 detail how a Chinese investor managing Illomba Granite Mine dangled $300 000 (about K225 million) to senior government officials to have a mining licence renewed.
“We are done and we should be able to provide a final report,” she said.
Natural Resources Justice Committee chairperson Kossam Munthali said he was yet to get information on the matter.
However, he said people around Illomba have waited for too long on the issue.
“This is the reason why even the Ministry of Mining refused Faisal Hassen renewal of the licence. People need closure, and we are all waiting anxiously,” he said.
The investor, according to the clips, promised to dangle money to some civil servants involved in processing the deal.
While all that much was supposed to exchange hands, people of Mbilima have only two boreholes, costing less than K10 million, and have to walk about 20 kilometres to access health services.
The community members also complain of a bad road, lack of electricity and classroom blocks.
Faisal Hassen owned the mining site under a renewed Mining Licence No. ML0019/95, which was issued by the Minister of Energy on June 28 1995 and expired on June 28 2020. The first licence was issued in 1988.
