Parliament member Yaya Menteng Sabyang wants investigators to examine the sale of 4,376 tons of valuable minerals. The government took these minerals from Alhamdulilai Petroleum Mineral Company after seizing the business from former president Yahya Jammeh. Gambia Angola China Holding sold the minerals even though they never mined them from the ground. The Chinese company received 40 percent of all money from the sale despite doing no mining work. Sabyang demands the National Assembly committee investigate how much money the government actually received.
The lawmaker said these minerals belong to Gambian citizens rather than the former dictator. Government records show major problems with how officials handled the mineral sale to China. The Geology Department and Petroleum Ministry must help parliament members find the truth about missing money. GACH shipped 351 containers of sand minerals to China during 2019 without proper oversight. The mining revenue never appeared in national budget documents for 2017 and 2018.
Lamin Camara from the Energy Ministry confirmed the government only received $205,000 from selling all the seized minerals. Normal mining deals give government 60 percent of profits and companies 40 percent of earnings. The Chinese firm made huge profits without spending money on digging or processing the valuable sand. Sabyang wants parliament to investigate this deal without protecting anyone from prosecution.
The lawmaker said these minerals belong to Gambian citizens rather than the former dictator. Government records show major problems with how officials handled the mineral sale to China. The Geology Department and Petroleum Ministry must help parliament members find the truth about missing money. GACH shipped 351 containers of sand minerals to China during 2019 without proper oversight. The mining revenue never appeared in national budget documents for 2017 and 2018.
Lamin Camara from the Energy Ministry confirmed the government only received $205,000 from selling all the seized minerals. Normal mining deals give government 60 percent of profits and companies 40 percent of earnings. The Chinese firm made huge profits without spending money on digging or processing the valuable sand. Sabyang wants parliament to investigate this deal without protecting anyone from prosecution.
