KABUL - The acting minister of mines said Sayed Mansour Sadat Naderi chose to step down as minister in order to retain his mining contracts.
Nargis Nehan the acting minister of mines and petroleum said on Tuesday that former minister of urban development and housing, Sayed Mansour Sadat Naderi, resigned from his post so as not to lose two mining contracts he had bid for in his personal capacity.
The contracts involve the Badakhshan Gold Mine and the Sar-e-PulBalkhab Copper Mine.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Nehan said there had been a delay in rolling out the contract awarded to Naderi’s company Afghan Gold and Minerals Company three years ago, as legally there had been a conflict of interest. At the time Naderi was minister of urban development and housing.
Nehan said that Naderi had eventually chosen to resign so as not to lose the contracts. She also said that Naderi's father, Sayed Mansur Naderi, who had been an MP, had also resigned from parliament for the same reason.
Nehan said according to the law, government officials may not simultaneously hold official positions and own companies that have been awarded government contracts.
According to Nehan, now that Naderi has resigned, the issue of conflict of interest has been cleared up and that the extraction of minerals at the mines will start once the finer details relating to the contracts have been finalized.
“The issue was the conflict of interest. They (Naderi and his father) said they would prefer to resign from government so as not to lose the contract. Not only did Sadat Naderi resign from the ministry, but his father also resigned from parliament,” said Nehan.
Nehan’s claims that the extraction projects were delayed due to the conflict of interest issue have however been rejected by some mining experts, who said the contracts had in fact been cancelled three years ago when Naderi was appointed minister.
“When Mr Naderi was appointed to the cabinet, these projects were canceled. Today, after three years, it is said that based on there being no conflict of interest now, it is possible that these projects will be restored, "said Sayed Zaman Hashimi, a mining rights expert.
When contacted, Naderi would not comment on the issue.
Naderi announced his resignation as minister of urban development and housing last month – stating at the time his resignation had been accepted by President Ashraf Ghani.
Naderi was introduced as nominee minister of urban development and housing by Ghani in March 2015.
In April 2015, he was elected minister after getting 202 votes of confidence out of 239 from MPs in the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament).