Tanzanian Association Oslo

Meremeta Gold:

Security, intelligence

units all on red alert

-Revealed: ’Quiet’ investigations in progress


THISDAY REPORTER
Dar es Salaam

The mysterious dealings of the now-defunct Meremeta Gold Mine Company Limited have become the subject of collective curiosity from a number of top national security and intelligence departments long after its reported liquidation in 2005, it has now come to light.

Impeccable sources have informed THISDAY that investigators from the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Services (TISS), the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), and the Tanzania Police Force’s own criminal investigations department (CID) have each been snooping around Meremeta company records filed at the Business Registration and Licensing Authority (BRELA) offices in Dar es Salaam for the past two years or so.

The sources said the investigators appeared mainly interested in gaining access to the company’s financial statements and its list of shareholders.

It is understood that although the parallel investigations by all three state agencies are believed to have gathered a significant amount of evidence on the UK-registered company, there has been no status report so far.

It also remains unclear if TISS, PCCB and the police CID were and still are even working together at all, including coordination in gathering, compiling and analysing the evidence on Meremeta.

THISDAY has now learnt that after being formed in the UK, a local branch of the Meremeta company was registered in Tanzania in 1997 and given certificate of compliance number 32755.

At the time, according to THISDAY latest findings, the listed company directors were Russel John Schwartz (a South African national), Wilfred Nyachia (then a senior Treasury official), Zulu Lyana (a Tanzanian civil servant) and Gerald Augustine Mrudi (also a Tanzanian national).

According to the government, Meremeta Gold was originally registered as a joint venture company owned on a 50-50 basis by the Tanzanian government and a private South African company, Trinnex (Pty) Limited.

At least one senior police detective, identified as Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ernest Sakawa, is reported to have visited the BRELA offices and asked to see the Meremeta company files as far back as May 2006.

And again in 2007, the PCCB is understood to have sent one of its own top sleuths, Dunia Kaongo, to gather information about Meremeta from BRELA.

Kaongo is now the PCCB director of investigations, a post he took over from Dr Edward Hoseah after the latter’s promotion to director general of the government’s anti-graft watchdog.

Insiders have also told THISDAY that the police CID’s own quiet probe took it all the way to the Buhemba gold mine in Mara region, which was run by the Meremeta company but has since also been closed down somewhat unceremoniously.

THISDAY investigations have already established that as part of the Meremeta bankruptcy process, former Bank of Tanzania governor Daudi Ballali authorised a questionable payment of over $118m (approx. 150bn/-) to South Africa’s Nedbank to liquidate a loan issued to the outgoing company.

Following the liquidation of Meremeta, a new company was formed under the name of TANGOLD Limited, which then received an additional $13.34m (approx. 17bn/-) paid by BoT into its bank account at the National Bank of Commerce Limited Corporate Branch in Dar es Salaam.

Former energy and minerals minister Nazir Karamagi is on record as announcing in parliament that TANGOLD was a wholly-owned Tanzania government company, and that all assets and liabilities of the Meremeta company - including the Buhemba gold mine in Mara region had been transferred to TANGOLD.

However, THISDAY investigations have also verified that TANGOLD Limited was in fact registered as an offshore company in Port Louis, Mauritius in April 2005 - albeit with at least five top government officials listed as directors.

They included Ballali and the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Gray Mgonja, who has continued in the same position todate despite a whole government changeover in the interim.

Others were the then Attorney-General and later senior Cabinet minister, Andrew Chenge; the then permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Patrick Rutabanzibwa; and the then permanent secretary in the Ministry of Livestock Development, Vincent Mrisho.

Rutabanzibwa and Mrisho are now permanent secretaries in the Ministry of Water and the Prime Minister’s Office, respectively. As for Chenge, he was recently forced to resign from his latest government position (as senior Cabinet minister) after being linked to the 70bn/- military radar scandal dating back from his days as AG.

It has also been verified that although TANGOLD is supposedly a government-owned company, the listed directors (shareholders) are permitted to transfer all or part of their shares to their next of kin.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance currently does not list TANGOLD among companies owned by the Tanzanian government.