The Buzwagi Saga: Karamagi aenda kusaini Mkataba wa ULAJI London

[Keil]

Buzwagi deal: The London connection

THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam

THE signing of the Buzwagi gold mining contract in London in February this year may not have been a coincidence after all as the agreement clearly specifies that arbitration of any dispute arising from implementation of the project in Tanzania must take place in the British capital.

The controversial contract document states that all disputes will have to be settled by arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), administered by the London Court of International Arbitration.

''The arbitration shall take place in London and the language to be used in arbitral proceedings shall be English,'' says Article 13.5 of the agreement signed on February 17 by the Minister for Energy and Minerals, Nazir Karamagi, on behalf of the government and Barrick Gold Tanzania's executive general manager in charge of operations, Gareth Taylor, representing Pangea Minerals Ltd.

It defines a 'dispute' as any controversy or claim arising from the contract agreement or the mining licence granted to Pangea Minerals Ltd, itself being a subsidiary company of Barrick Gold, for the Buzwagi area.

Legal sector sources have confirmed to THISDAY that with such a clause included in the agreement, Tanzania?s own judicial system can have no say whatsoever in the handling of any dispute with a direct bearing on the agreement contents, the mining licence or the project implementation details.

This is despite the existence of another clause in the agreement ? under Article 17 dealing with miscellaneous provisions - where it is stated that ''the agreement shall be governed by the law of Tanzania and such rules of international law as may be applicable''.

Speculation has become rife regarding the circumstances behind the signing of the contract in London rather than within Tanzania, where the gold mining project is to be developed in Kahama District, Shinyanga Region.

Various critics have pointed out that while the choice of London as the signing venue was in itself not a violation of any particular law, the fact that Tanzanian government officials will have to fly to the British capital for arbitration with the investor company every time there is a dispute in either the contract or mining licence is enough to raise eyebrows.

It has been noted that the contract appears to give Pangea Minerals Limited, as the project developer, extraordinary leeway in areas of taxation and contributions to national and local government development. It also binds the government to maintain the same taxes and fiscal laws applicable to the company today for the entire duration of the mine, which is a minimum of the next 25 years and a maximum that by the terms of the contract could well be more or less indefinite.

It is stated therein that ''the duration of the mining licence shall be for a period of 25 years with an option for the company to renew the licence on the same terms and conditions for a further 25 years.'' This is basically as stipulated in the existing Mining Act of 1998. However, while the Act also stipulates that after being granted an initial 25-year licence, mining companies may be given a second and final licence renewal of just 25 years, the Buzwagi deal is open-ended in this area, effectively giving Pangea Minerals Ltd the option of renewing its licence even after this 50-year cap period, and continuing to do so for as long as it may decide.

According to the agreement, after every 25 years it will be up to the minister of the day in charge of the mining portfolio to use his or her own discretion to grant the licence renewal, with no specified limits of duration.

Other notable areas of the contract include Article 8, which appears to provide Pangea Minerals Ltd?s expatriate personnel and hired foreign sub-contractors for the project with certain, unrestricted favours like expedited issuance of work permits, employment passes, visas and the like.

The company and its contractors will also be allowed to import, without restriction, all items required for the design, construction, installation and operation of the project, including fuel, spare parts and replacements to the spare parts inventory.

The importation of these goods will be subject to compliance with the country's own normal administrative requirements, ''provided that any imposts applicable to the importation of fuel, including road toll contribution, will be subject to an annual limit of $200,000'', says the contract.

Each expatriate coming into Tanzania under the Buzwagi project banner will also be permitted to bring in their personal and household effects, including one car on their first arrival, free of import duty and other taxes. And according to Article 8.5 of the agreement, they will be allowed to export their salaries and pension benefits out of the country during and after employment.

The contract also prohibits the government from ''nationalizing or compulsorily acquiring'' the Buzwagi gold mine itself or the mining licence granted to Pangea Minerals Ltd, adding that if it (government) decides to do so anyway, then it should ''pay compensation in US dollars to an account outside Tanzania specified by the company in an amount and manner that is prompt, adequate and effective.''

Pangea Minerals Ltd is expected to invest some $400m (approx. 520bn/-) in the Buzwagi gold mining project.

 

[Mbu]

hamna mtu wa kuweza kumuua Zitto,hao vitisho vyao ni mbuzi tu,na endapo hilo litatokea basi moto wake hautazimwa.

Wajaribu Waone Damu Ya Watanzania Inavyopenda Kumwagika

Hapo ndipo watakapoona kanga anavyonyolewa mzima mzima.

Leop Polisi wanakataa kwamba hawajapata taarifa ila nina uhakika IGP na Manumba wana habari tangia mwanzo Zitto anatoka Bungeni.Hali ya Usalama wa Zitto inahofiwa mno kwa kuwa Nchi hii utawala bora ni ndoto.Lakini huko majuu ma scandals zinatokea na watu wanasema kwa uwazi .Nasema Zitto utaishi maisha marefu sana maisha yako mwamuzi ni Mungu na ulinzi uko kwa kila Mtanzania na hao wapambe wa hao mafisadi hawatajaribu kuipa Serikali ya CCM wakati mgumu tena baada ya kuipeleka pabaya kule Dodoma na Mikataba. Serikali iko macho na inajua nguvu ya Zitto sasa .

...hakuna lisilowezekana; dada yetu AC alitutanabaisha na mapema kuwa "mambo alokuwa anayazungumzia" yatamweka maisha yake hatarini, leo hii katutoka na ile vita aloianzisha ishanza sahaulika! yaani kama kilio cha samaki, machozi yamekwenda na maji, 'imetoka hiyo...!'

...Vile vile kwa Edward Moringe wa Sokoine na vita ya wahujumu uchumi, kina Brig. Kombe, Horace Kolimba na dira ya chama, kina Prof Malima, nk... 'Conspiracy theory' bado zipo, na zitaendelea kuwepo, haswa pale mheshimiwa fulani atapokufa kutokana na 'skendeli' ama alilolifumua, au atalokusudia kulifumua, ...na hata nje ya Tz tumeyaona hayo mfano; Robert Ouko wa kenya 'aliyejipiga risasi kwanza kisha kujichoma moto' au Dr David Kelly wa uingereza (wa 45min WMD za Saddam) na Robin Cook aliyepinga vita na Saddam hawa wawili walikufa mmoja kwa 'kujiua' na mwingine kwa 'heart attack', eti walipokuwa wananyoosha miguu (Stroll) na mbwa wao!

...Mfululizo wa ajali tulizoziona kwa waheshimiwa Mudhihir, Kapuya, Lowassa nk, itakuwa ajabu kweli kama 'naye' atagongwa na gari? au Helicopter yake kuishiwa mafuta angani? Sidhani. Itakuwa ni ajali tu, na 'watu' wataamini kama walivyoamini TALAKA tatu zinaweza kumuua Mheshimiwa alolipua skendeli ya 'bimbwi'.

Mwenyezi Mungu atamlinda Inshaallah, ila adui mkubwa wa binadamu ni binadamu mwenyewe!

 

[Mtanganyika]

Enron walikuwa wanasifa kubwa sana, Ken Lay alikuwa anatembea na kitabu kilicho andikwa Enron Ethics code, was Ken Lay ethical? you make a judgement.

The good thing ni kwamba, someone need to email CEO kichwa cha habari cha This Day kinachohusu kampuni yake na ushenzi wake. Ingekuwa hii kampuni ni Kimarekani isingekuwa taabu sana, maana congress inasheria concern hizi aina za rushwa.

 

[Shemzigwa]

hauwawi mtu zitto watamuaona ana dunda kila siku watazidi kupinduka na migari kwa laana za wananchi nyie sikilizeni tu

 

[Keil]

Hamna lolote, muuaji ni mmoja na hahusiani na Zitto, Muuaji wa Ipyana na Amina ni mmoja tu na nyie mnalifahamu hilo.

Kwahiyo acheni FIX.

Basi huyo muuaji atakuwa kiboko, maana Ipyana alipofariki msemaji wa familia alisema hawahitaji kufanya uchunguzi. Alipofariki AC pia kauli kama hiyo ilitolewa. Je, ina maana kwamba huyo muuaji huwa anawa-corrupt mpaka family members ili wasitake kufanya uchunguzi wa kiini cha kifo cha mpendwa wao?

 

[Halisi]

Basi huyo muuaji atakuwa kiboko, maana Ipyana alipofariki msemaji wa familia alisema hawahitaji kufanya uchunguzi. Alipofariki AC pia kauli kama hiyo ilitolewa. Je, ina maana kwamba huyo muuaji huwa anawa-corrupt mpaka family members ili wasitake kufanya uchunguzi wa kiini cha kifo cha mpendwa wao?

Keil,

Kaa chini utulie, halafu utafakari kwa makini yanayojadiliwa kabla na baada ya kifo cha AC.. Lakini mada hapa ni tishio kwa Zitto... Suala la familia kukataa uchunguzi inaweza kuwa na maana nyingi hasi na chanya. Inaweza kuwa FAMILIA IMEKWISHA KUFAHAMU CHANZO NA HAITAKI KUWAPA WATU FAIDA, INAWEZEKANA FAMILIA INAFANYA UCHUNGUZI LAKINI HAITAKI IFAHAMIKE HIVYO KWA UMMA, INAWEZEKANA FAMILIA INA IMANI YA MUNGU KWAMBA KILA JAMBO HUPANGWA NA MUNGU NA KILA NAFSI ITAONJA MAUTI, FAMILIA INAWEZA KUWA IMECHANGANYIKIWA NA UZITO WA MSIBA NA KWA MAANA HIYO HAITAKI KUONGEZA MACHUNGU KWA KUCHUNGUZA JAMBO AMBALO HALIWEZI KUMRUDISHA MTU WAO, FAMILIA INAWEZA KUWA IMEBANWA NA WAHUSIKA BILA KUJUA (KIKULACHO) NA HIVYO WAHUSIKA WAKAWA NA MKONO MREFU WA KUIFANYA FAMILIA ISITAMBUE KINACHOENDELEA, NA KADHALIKA, KWA HIYO HAKUNA JIBU MOJA KAMA HESABU YA 2+2=4, HIYO YOTE INATEGEMEA NA MAZINGIRA. HALAFU JE, KAMA MTU ANAWEZA KUPANGA MAUAJI YA KISAYANSI, ATASHINDWAJE KUVURUGA UCHUNGUZI? HIVI TANZANIA NANI ANAYEWEZA KUBEBA MWILI AMA SAMPULI KWENDA NJE YA NCHI AMA NANI ANAWEZA KULETA WATAALAMU TOKA NJE KUCHUNGUZA?

KWA UJUMLA, AJALI YA BARABARANI, UGONJWA 'UNAOFAHAMIKA', MSHITUKO, KUJIUA, UGOMVI NA HATIMAYE KIFO NA KADHALIKA, NI SABABU AMBAZO HAZICHUNGUZIKI KWA MAZINGIRA YA TANZANIA

 

[BAK]

Buzwagi deal: The London connection

THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam

The controversial contract document states that all disputes will have to be settled by arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), administered by the London Court of International Arbitration.

’’The arbitration shall take place in London and the language to be used in arbitral proceedings shall be English,’’ says Article 13.5 of the agreement signed on February 17 by the Minister for Energy and Minerals, Nazir Karamagi, on behalf of the government and Barrick Gold Tanzania’s executive general manager in charge of operations, Gareth Taylor, representing Pangea Minerals Ltd.

It defines a ’dispute’ as any controversy or claim arising from the contract agreement or the mining licence granted to Pangea Minerals Ltd, itself being a subsidiary company of Barrick Gold, for the Buzwagi area.

Legal sector sources have confirmed to THISDAY that with such a clause included in the agreement, Tanzania�s own judicial system can have no say whatsoever in the handling of any dispute with a direct bearing on the agreement contents, the mining licence or the project implementation details.

This is despite the existence of another clause in the agreement � under Article 17 dealing with miscellaneous provisions - where it is stated that ’’the agreement shall be governed by the law of Tanzania and such rules of international law as may be applicable’’.

Speculation has become rife regarding the circumstances behind the signing of the contract in London rather than within Tanzania, where the gold mining project is to be developed in Kahama District, Shinyanga Region.

Various critics have pointed out that while the choice of London as the signing venue was in itself not a violation of any particular law, the fact that Tanzanian government officials will have to fly to the British capital for arbitration with the investor company every time there is a dispute in either the contract or mining licence is enough to raise eyebrows.

It has been noted that the contract appears to give Pangea Minerals Limited, as the project developer, extraordinary leeway in areas of taxation and contributions to national and local government development. It also binds the government to maintain the same taxes and fiscal laws applicable to the company today for the entire duration of the mine, which is a minimum of the next 25 years and a maximum that by the terms of the contract could well be more or less indefinite.

It is stated therein that ’’the duration of the mining licence shall be for a period of 25 years with an option for the company to renew the licence on the same terms and conditions for a further 25 years.’’ This is basically as stipulated in the existing Mining Act of 1998. However, while the Act also stipulates that after being granted an initial 25-year licence, mining companies may be given a second and final licence renewal of just 25 years, the Buzwagi deal is open-ended in this area, effectively giving Pangea Minerals Ltd the option of renewing its licence even after this 50-year cap period, and continuing to do so for as long as it may decide.

According to the agreement, after every 25 years it will be up to the minister of the day in charge of the mining portfolio to use his or her own discretion to grant the licence renewal, with no specified limits of duration.

Other notable areas of the contract include Article 8, which appears to provide Pangea Minerals Ltd�s expatriate personnel and hired foreign sub-contractors for the project with certain, unrestricted favours like expedited issuance of work permits, employment passes, visas and the like.

The company and its contractors will also be allowed to import, without restriction, all items required for the design, construction, installation and operation of the project, including fuel, spare parts and replacements to the spare parts inventory.


The importation of these goods will be subject to compliance with the country’s own normal administrative requirements, ’’provided that any imposts applicable to the importation of fuel, including road toll contribution, will be subject to an annual limit of $200,000’’, says the contract.

Each expatriate coming into Tanzania under the Buzwagi project banner will also be permitted to bring in their personal and household effects, including one car on their first arrival, free of import duty and other taxes. And according to Article 8.5 of the agreement, they will be allowed to export their salaries and pension benefits out of the country during and after employment.

The contract also prohibits the government from ’’nationalizing or compulsorily acquiring’’ the Buzwagi gold mine itself or the mining licence granted to Pangea Minerals Ltd, adding that if it (government) decides to do so anyway, then it should ’’pay compensation in US dollars to an account outside Tanzania specified by the company in an amount and manner that is prompt, adequate and effective.’’

Pangea Minerals Ltd is expected to invest some $400m (approx. 520bn/-) in the Buzwagi gold mining project.

 

[BAK]

Katika mkutano wake wa kutangaza kumfungulia mashtaka Mh. Slaa, Karamagi aliwaahidi waandishi wa habari kukutana nao Jumamosi iliyopita. Je, kulikoni? kuna yeyote mwenye habari za mkutano huo na waandishi wa habari au aliamua kuingia mitini?

 

[Mzee Mwanakijiji]

Nadhani ungeliweka swali lako kunakohusiana na majibu ya Karamagi, na sidhani kama aliahidi kukutana na waandishi wa habari. Waliahidi kutoa majibu ya serikali ifikapo Jumamosi na yalitolewa.

 

[Mugishagwe]

Leo imekuwa siku nzto baada ya Bwana Sitta Speaker kukutana na Slaa na Zitto uso kwa uso mida ya sa tano usiku huu wote wakikwea pipa moja kuelekea Ughaibuni. Wakati Sitta anaenda Finnland Slaa ame elekea US kuunguruma huko.

Dr.Slaa alikuwa wa kwanza kuingia kwenye ule ukumbi wao wa VIP baadaye akafuatiwa na Zitto na ndipo akaingia Sitta akiwa anapepea bendera ya taifa .Walinzi walifanya kazi ya ziada ikiwamo kuwazuia waandishi wa habari wa This Day na wapiga picha wa magazeti mbalimbali .

Ndipo walinzia walipo amua kukandamiza kweli kweli nakuwatosa wana Chadema .Maofisa wa ngazi za juu wa Chama hicho kama ndugu Tumbo na wengineo walizuiliwa na kuombwa vitambulisho vya Ukurugenzi na hata walipo vitoa bado wakakandamizwa nje na ukawa mwisho wa mchezo wakaondoka bila ya kumwaga ndugu Slaa.

Je hawa watu wametendewa haki ? Nakuja baadaye kuwapeni maongezi toka VIP room kati ya wakubwa hawa na Speaker .

 

[Lawson]

Du hiyo kali mimi nafikiri wangetumia muda huo kuombana msamaha ili bunge likianza wawe wanaelewana maana Sitta naye anawakati mgumu wa kumtetea Kara...aliyedanganya bunge kwa mkataba feki sijui itakuwaje mbele ya safari

 

[255Texter]

Kwa hiyo Slaa na Zito wanakwenda US kukutana na members wa congress kama ilivyotangazwa humu kwenye mtandao wetu mtukuka wa JF na Mwafrika wa Kike?? Kama ni hivyo basi Muungwana ana kazi ya ziada maana jamaa wanakwenda ku UNDO kila kitu alichojaribu kufanya huko USA, namely kuipatia Tanzania mafedha ya millenium challenge. Kama hiyo fedha itakwamishwa basi JK atakua ameumbuka sana maana alitaka kutumia hiyo fedha kufanya miradi ambayo angewarubuni wadanganyika kwamba ni mafanikio yaliyoletwa na Chma cha Mafisadi.

 

[Nyerererist]

hiyo kali sana sasa inabidi tujue na kwenye pipa wanatizamana vipi? lakini cha msingi jamaa nao inabidi waende kitaifa zaidi na si kwa masirahi ya CHADEMA tu lakini kwa taifa zima

 

[BAK]

By Sunday Citizen Team

Minister for Energy and Minerals Nazir Karamagi has officially admitted that he deleted from the proposed Buzwagi mining contract, a clause on the East African Customs Management just few minutes before signing the controversial contract in London in February this year.

Speaking to the Sunday Citizen earlier this week, Karamagi said he made the changes as the Clause wouldn’t be applicable, since the mining sector doesn’t fall within the East African Customs Management.

The minister said that each East African state has a special licence to choose a sector in which special incentives can be offered. For Tanzania, the mining industry falls within this special arrangement.

But hadn’t a team of experts from his own ministry included the Clause in the document?
“The Commissioner of Mining is the right person to explain this,” Karamagi responded.

The minister denied any wrongdoing in his action or the signing of the contract. However, his signing of the Buzwagi deal has caused heated debate inside and outside Parliament in recent months, with the Opposition parties and civil society calling for an independent Parliamentary commission of inquiry into the signing of the contract.

According to the Buzwagi contract, the deleted clause in Article 4.2 of the agreement obliged the investor to pay to the government taxes and other fiscal obligation under the East Africa Customs Union.

With its exclusion, the country will lose out significant revenue.

Disturbing to observers is the fact that the Buzwagi contract was signed at a time when the government was in the process of reviewing previous mining contracts in order to create what the Head of State termed a’ win- win’ situation.

However, when asked again to clarify why his experts didn’t think that the Clause was not applicable, thus including it in the contract, Karamagi was not able to provide any tangible reasons, instead he directed the Sunday Citizen to the Commissioner for Minerals again, insisting that it was the commissioner who is responsible for legal affairs.

Commissioner for Minerals Dr Peter Kafumu said the minister’s move to delete the Clause aimed at protecting Tanzania’s lucrative mining industry, which has key place in the national economy.

According to Dr Kafumu, the EA Customs Management Act allows each of the East African countries to have their own incentives in a particular sector and for Tanzania, the mining sector is the one that has been picked to enjoy the special incentives.

The Commissioner said it was true that the original contract drafted by a team of experts from the Ministry of Energy and Minerals in Dar es Salaam included the East African Customs Management Act of 2004, but insisted that the clause was not necessary.
According to Dr Kafumu the experts, who are versed with rules, added the Clause through an oversight.
Asked to explain how experts could have overlooked such a crucial clause, the commissioner insisted: “This clause was not included intentionally.”

Why then didn’t the minister inform the Parliament about his decisions to delete the clause?

Dr Kafumu said his boss was confident that no one would lay their hands on the contract, since it is a confidential document only accessible to the government and investors.
“It is illegal to posses any government document especially one bearing confidential stamp, but I am personally surprised to hear that some people have managed to access the contract!” he remarked.

Targeting whistle blowers

The commissioner said his ministry is working hard to establish the person behind the leakages of contracts at the ministry as a handful of contracts have reached the media as of recent, including the Buzwagi one.

He said his ministry is working hard to nab those behind the leakages, adding that once identified, they would not only lose their jobs, but will also face legal action.

He said other contracts that leaked to the media last year were the Richmond contract and Alex Stewart contract, which ‘caused confusion within the ministry.’

Tundu Lissu, a prominent lawyer and a critic of mining industry told the Sunday Citizen: “The government has been trying to misuse the National Security Act of 1971 to protect even things which are not top secrets.”

Lissu, who was the first person to admit he was in possession of the Buzwagi contract early this week during the talk show hosted by Jenerali Ulimwengu, clarified: “This contract can’t be a top secret document because it has nothing to do with national security or the country’s military.”

He added: “Being in possession of this document can’t be a criminal offence because it is a matter of public interest in that the general public has the right to know what its government is offering investors as stated by the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania.”

According to Lissu, any law that contradicts the National Constitution, which is the cornerstone of all laws in this country, is nullified.

“The government should not issue threats to whistle blowers who have enabled the nation to access the controversial contracts… they should protect whistle blowers instead of threatening to sue them were they to be identified or revealed,” Lissu said.

A high-ranking source within the State House told the Sunday Citizen this week that he was shocked to read the contents of the Buzwagi contract in the local press this week.
“These are very serious allegations. When I read the newspapers my first instinct was that what the reports were untrue, but now you are telling me that the minister has admitted to deleting the Clause!” remarked the source.

He declined to be named, citing the sensitivity of his position in the government, but he admitted that following the leakage of the Buzwagi contract, there are now several questions Karamagi has to answer regarding the credibility of the contract.

He said the message to the public now is that Parliament declined to form a probe commission as demanded by the Opposition MPs because of the abnormalities in the contract.
The source further added that all the other major mining contracts were signed before the introduction of East African Customs Union, so the Clause deleted was not applicable to them.

But he said Buzwagi should have fallen within the East African Customs Management Act because it was signed after law came into force.

 

[Mugishagwe]

Nyererist unaweza kwenda kimaslahi ya taifa ni kupi na kichama ni kupi ? Maana ndiyo maana mara zote tumeshinda kujua lini JK anaongea kama Rais na kiongozi wa Chama chao kitukufu.Kwenye ndege wanaweza kuongea tu is not a big deal ila wataongelea nini is an issue naamini abiria wengine na hasa wabongo ambao wanalijua hili sakata wamepata burudani na ndege yao inakaribia kutua sasa Amsterdam.

Zitto alikuwa anamsindikiza Katibu Mkuu wake so safaro ya yeye kwa wale Wabunge ina andaliwa .Habari nilizo nazo ni kwamba wale wazungu wanataka sana sana kusikia maneno ya Zitto.

 

[Mugishagwe]

Hivi ndivyo ilivyokuwa jana usiku wakati Mzee Salaa akikwea Pipa kenda kuunguruma unyamwezini na Zitto akawa anampa salaam za huko pale VIP Lounge

 

[Raia]

Duh, naona ilikuwa kazi kweli kweli, Zitto tuambie yaliyojiri hapo VIP jana usiku

 

[Jasusi]

Mugishagwe,
Umepotea sana humu ukumbini, yakhe. Karibu tena na ripoti moto moto.

 

[Mkandara]

Wanabodi,
Nauliza hivi kweli Dr.Slaa na Zitto wamepaa na pipa ama?... ikiwa wako mitaa hii jamani naomba mnipe contact zao kwani napenda waingie hapa Hijja - Mecca ya migodi waonane na wazee wa nchi hii kuhusiana na Barricks.. iwe somo kwa hawa jamaa kwamba uhusiano wa nchi hizi mbili hauwezi kuharibika kutokana na ufisadi wa baadhi watu wachache.

 

[BroJay4]

hiyo ilikua kali,tupeni news,nadhani speaker aliishia nguvu baada ya kukutana na vinara wawili.hahaha.