(MENAFN- Pajhwok Afghan News) KABUL wok): At least 17 employees of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP), including former acting Minister Nargis Nehan, have been referred to the Attorney General Office (AGO) on graft charges.
The former acting minister and 16 employees referred to AGO in connection with corruption in the Ghorian salt mine contract, which was canceled two and half years ago.
MoMP has signed a five-year contract with a private company named 'Namak (salt) Nasir Omaid' on January, 2, 2018 to extract a sedimentary salt mine from the Ghorian district of Herat, the salt of which obtained from flowing water.
According to Nargis Nehan, who was acting minister at the time that 25,000 tons of the salt was to be extracted annually from the mine, and the contracting company would pay 1,065 afghanis as bonus per ton.
She had also said that the company was paying 12,000 afghanis annually from the land rent certificate to the ministry.
15 months passed after the cancellation of 5-year contract
The copy of a document shows that the contract cancelled on April, 2018.
A suggestion report of the ministry said that a joint delegation from the MoMP oversight and Herat mines and petroleum department visited the salt mine on March 20, 2018, taking into account the President's verbal direction regarding the cancellation of the contract.
The source has sought the guidance of the President regarding the termination of the contract, considering 'the delegation's visit to the site and some other considerations.' The president has approved the cancellation of the contract.
Abdul Qadir Mutafi, a spokesman for the MoMP at the time, told the media about the cancellation of the contract: 'Based on specific evaluation, it was determined that there are other precious metals and minerals in the area that we can make huge economic profit. Therefore, the Herat salt contract was cancelled. We can invest and work with the company according to the mining law in order to compensate the firm's losses.'
Probing corruption after two and half year from cancellation of the contract
In a letter on August, 12 of the ongoing year, the MoMP said about the contract for the extraction of this mine that it shared the report of the mine with Presidential Palace and the president directed that the justice and judicial organs should investigate the report of the ministry, officials, employees, members of the committee involved in the bidding process, including the request by the Nasir Omaid Namak company.
The paper attached to this letter showed that instead of deciding on the fate of the bidding process or submitting it to the economic council, the officials of the ministry requested the cooperation from the National Procurement Office and the bidding process remained without a final decision for eight months.
According to the attached paper said that the contract was awarded to the Nasir Omaid Salt company without considering and evaluation report based on the firm's request while this company got 13 points lower than other company (Afghan Mofid.
in addition to this letter, a list of former and current officials and staff involved in the bidding process has been sent to the Attorney General Office (AGO) for further and comprehensive investigation.
Those referred to the AGO included, Nargis Nehan, former minister of mining and petroleum, Noor
Haq Farid, ex-chief of staff of the ministry, Ghazal Habibyar Safi, deputy director admin/finance.
Ghulam Hazrat Amiri, technical advisor of the ministry, Mohammad Akram Ghaisi, technical advisor at the deputy minster department, Abdul Hamid Rizaq, ex-legal advisor at the directorate of the ministry.
Sayed Amin Hashimi, ex-technical advisor of the ministry, Mir Abdul Salaam, ex- chief of cadaster of the ministry, Mohammad Hamayoon, a representative of cadaster, Mohammad Noor Noori, a worker of the cadaster.
Ajmal Alimi, employee of the investment promotion department, Ahmad Hussaini Rahimi, employee of the inspection department, Khalil-ur-Rehman Rahmani, worker of technical and inspection department.
Mina Abdul Rahimzai and Zahir Zafari, workers of legal services department, Eng. Aqail, employee of the provincial coordination department and Dr. Khadija Jawadi, worker at the deputy minister department.
Another reliable source at the ministry, has also confirmed to Pajhwok that Nargis Nehan, former minister of mines and petroleum along with 16 others employees of the ministry had been referred to the AGO accordance with the presidential decree over misuse of authorities and corruption.
Contract cancelled to protect lithium and national interest
Nargis Nehan said that above contract was announced before her appointment as acting minister of mines and several Afghan firms had volunteered to receive the contract.
She said: 'A number of Wolesi Jirga members from Herat warned that if the contract was not signed the rain would commence and it could wash away the salt because it is a sedimentary salt and ultimately the value of the contract would decline. Later the ministry shared the issue with the High Economic Council and the Council approved the contract which was then offered to the bidding process and finally it was signed with a local company.'
According to Nehan, when the Ministry of Mines announced the contract on its website, the US Geological Survey (USGS), which technically cooperated with the Afghan Ministry of Mines and informed the Afghan government of the possible presence of lithium in the area and after that President Ghani verbally instructed the Ministry of Mines to cancel the Ghorian salt contract with Nasir Omid firm as soon as possible.
Nehan also provided the copy of email sent by the USGS about the possible presence of lithium in the area.
The USGS email says that the geological condition of the area indicated the possibility of the presence of lithium in the area and to discover minerals in the first stage, it is necessary to determine the depth of salt and the presence of minerals and in case of mineral signs, in the second stage, drilling is needed till recognized the presence of lithium in the area.
Nargis Nehan added that the Ministry of Mines had canceled the contract after the President Ghani order and to protect the national interests of the country and there has been nothing about corruption in this regard.
The former Acting Minister of Mines had noted that a study by the US Geological Survey is currently underway in the area.
She said about her introduction to the AGO over the certain contract, that investigation a project that was canceled two years ago for national interest is nothing but the personal interest of a limited number of individuals.
All the information shared with the AGO has been incorrect and I am ready to provide my answer to the AGO and the people of Afghanistan in this regard, she added.
The Ghorian salt contract has been canceled at a time where the Ettelaat Newspaper had reported on July 16 of this year that illegal mining in the Ghorian salt mine in Herat province continues, despite a decree issued by President Ghani.
Sources told Ettelaat Newspaper that tens of millions of afghanis from the extraction of illegally mining went to the pockets of Taliban insurgents, illegal armed men and powerful individuals annually.
Sa/pk/nh
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