KARONGI - A famous businessman in the Western Province, Didas Ntabareshya, has been named in a scandal involving illegal trade in cassiterite, a tin oxide mineral.

Investigations have established that Didas Ntabareshya, one of the major distributors of Bralirwa products in the Western Province, is being accused of being part of a network that has taken over the mineral business in the Bisesero concession, located in Rwankuba sector, Karongi sector.

Despite the concession being owned by a US investor, eye witnesses have on several occasions seen Ntabareshya continue to illegally purchase minerals and he was last seen at the site three weeks ago.

"Ntabareshya has established a barter-trade network that covers virtually all the small shops across the concession area in which smaller amounts of minerals are collected in exchange for beer,” said an eye witness who preferred not to be named.

He explained that this illegal business substantially raises Bralirwa’s sales in beer and other manufactured drinks for which Ntabareshya is the main distributor in the region. 

Speaking to The New Times yesterday, Bernard Kayumba, the Mayor of Karongi district, confirmed that Ntabareshya was indeed under investigation. 

"I was approached by officials of the company that obtained the concession and we requested them to bring forth necessary evidence against Ntabareshya. We are working closely with the police to establish whether the allegations are indeed true,” Kayumba said.

Officials estimate that the amount of cassiterite, wolfram and coltan mined in the concession totals between 10 and 20 tonnes per month but each month, less than 400 kilogrammes of cassiterite and less than 100 Kgs wolfram were lawfully mined in the last 3 years.

According to Bill Quam, the country Manager of Bay View Group, the American company which acquired the concession in 2007, at least 6 tonnes of minerals are lost to illegal dealers every month.

Quam said that he regrets that the illegal smuggling network provides residents in the Bisesero Concession area a barter system of trade that undermines government’s ability to collect taxes.

"It appears that the smuggling heavily revolves around the beer business and It is also widely understood that the center of this smuggling network is Gisovu Town and collections of minerals are from the Bisesero Concession,” Quam said.

When contacted, Anita Munyaneza, Bralirwa’s head of communications confirmed that Ntabareshya was a distributer but declined to comment further about the matter.

"He is our distributor just like any other business partner and he is responsible everything he does. If we confirm that he is doing dubious business which tarnishes our name, action will definitely be taken,” Munyaneza said by telephone on Monday.

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