PDM member of parliament Celeste Becker wants minister Tom Alweendo to say when the mines ministry will comply with the High Court and grant back the four Exclusive Prospective Licenses that rightly belong to Dr. Subramanian Ragubathi and Nambib Resources (Pty) Ltd.
The EPLs in question are 2696 Toscanini, 2564 Torra Bay, 2565 Palgrave Point and 2566 Terrace Bay.
Becker also wants Alweendo to explain and justify why the mines ministry awarded EPL 5517 overlapping EPL 2696 to Haroldt Kamatuka and his company Ya Otto Mining and Exploration (Pty) Ltd, despite it not qualifying for such license as per Section 5, 16 and 49 of the Diamonds Act 13 of 1999.
“Will the Honorable Minister concur with me when I say that what happened in this whole dilemma is a gross violation of process and the law by the Mines and Energy ministry?” She asked.
Nambib Resources Proprietary Limited is owned by Malaysian born Dr. Subramanian Ragubathi, who has been embroiled in a nasty fight with the Namibian government over Exclusive Prospective Licenses in the Toscanini Diamond Area along the Skeleton Coast for more than 20 years.
Becker said the history of the battle between Nambib Resources and the Namibian government is long, complicated and common knowledge to those who are well vested with the matter.
“One dimension of this whole dilemma is crystal clear, and that is the undeniable fact that the Government of the Republic of Namibia is hell-bent on making sure that Nambib Resources, being headed by Dr. Ragubathi, does not get rightful ownership of the EPL’s that it is entitled to,” Becker said.
According to Becker, Nambib Resources was the holder of EPL 2696 Toscanini, 2564 Torra Bay, 2565 Palgrave Point and 2566 Terrace Bay where the company was doing bulk sampling exploration until the mines ministry refused to renew the licences in 2008.
She said Nambib Resources then approached the High Court of Namibia to overturn the refusal to renew the licenses, and the High Court ruled in its favour in October 2009.
“However almost 12 years later, these licenses that are due to Nambib Resources as per the court order delivered in October 2009 have still not been renewed by the Mines and Energy ministry, despite the Mining Commissioner having written to Nambib Resources on 1 April 2014 that the EPL’s will be granted back,” she charged.
Instead, she further said, EPL 5517 overlapping EPL 2696 was given to a company by the name of Ya Otto Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd, whose managing director at the time, Kamatuka, was a convicted offender.
Kamatuka and his company, the MP said, which has now been renamed to Ya Otto Mining and Exploration (Pty) Ltd, was in fact supposed to be disqualified from holding any licenses as per Sections 5, 16 and 49 of the Diamonds Act 13 of 1999.
“The Ministry of Mines and Energy once again completely ignored this illegality and once more renewed the licenses of Ya Otto Mining and Exploration (Pty) (Ltd) for another three (3) years,” she added.
