Chinese-Owned Ghana Manganese In Massive Sabotage Of Local Content

It has emerged that management of the premier Manganese Mining Company, Ghana Manganese Limited, based in Tarkwa Nsuta in the Western region, have sidelined local service providers on the mining site.

The Company was originally owned by a Ukrainian but was sold to a Chinese Company called Tianyuan Manganese Industry Group Co., Ltd. (TMI).

As it stands, the Chinese have full ownership. They took over full operations last year 2018.

What is illegal about their operation is that the company has instead engaged the services of some unlicensed Chinese contractors who do not have permits from the Minerals Commission to operate on the site.

The contract was given to Yantai Jinpeng Mining Machinery Co.,Ltd., that have no proper certification from the Minerals Commission.

As a result of this lapse, Yantai Jinpeng Mining Machinery Co., Ltd. is seeking to partner GS International developers to do the project.

Ghanaian-owned service providers who have the required permit from the Minerals Commission and licensed to offer mining services on the site are being sabotaged by the Chinese management from offering those services.

Some of the local content providers lamented that they have stopped all local contractors since they took over and are using their own Chinese companies who have no Minerals Commission permit for onsite activities.

A top source revealed that the company recently embarked on an invitation to tender for CP3 expansion which was an upgrade of the current plant where both local and Chinese vendors were invited to bid.

"After the bids were reviewed and a local company owned by a local person won the tender, there was a letter from their head office to cancel the tender and re-tender the project with a different requirement which they knew would be unfavourable to the local contractor and supplier.

Here are some of the requirements mentioned.

That local bidders interested must travel to China to purchase bidding documents at the cost of RMB5000 paid to. Tianyuan Manganese Industry Group Co., Ltd.

That Payment must be paid into their company’s bank account in China

All bid must be submitted by hard copy in China and also a representative must be present to witness the bidding opening.

That a bid security of 2% of the contract sum equivalent to USD$160,000 - 200,000 must be paid in cash by swift transfer into their company's account in China and attach proof of payment before the tender will be accepted.*

At the end of the tender, they were able to deprive all the local companies who participated in the tender and awarded all the contract packages to a fellow Chinese company who is not registered locally and does not have a Minerals Commission approval to work in the mine without local content.

The question is: Where are the authorities?....

Further detailed information will be provided on their illegal activities in the series...