The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) is being investigated for allegedly awarding a tender worth Sh40 billion to a Chinese company that had already been blacklisted by the World Bank.
The Daily Nation reports that the Chinese firm secured the lucrative contract to construct the Kipevu Oil Terminal in Mombasa in 2016.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) says the company is also under investigations for allegedly inflating the cost of the project from Sh15 billion to Sh25 billion and later Sh40 billion.
The anti-graft agency further notes that KPA delayed making the announcement for the contract awarded to the China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) for three months for unknown reasons.
It has now emerged that that CCCC’s parent company, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), had been blacklisted by the World Bank in 2009 for a period of eight years until January 12th, 2017.
The company was outlawed after investigations established that it had “engaged in collusive practices in World Bank-funded projects in the Philippines.”
A report on the World Bank’s debarred list also indicates that CRBC colluded with Philippines’ state officials to enter “non-competitive, artificially high bid prices.”
EACC launched investigations into the tender in 2018 after a whistle-blower wrote a letter to the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and EACC requesting for the cancellation of the multi-billion-shilling.
CCCC, however, insists that being blacklisted by the World Bank does not bar it from bidding for contracts.
“CCCC was, and has, not from any point been debarred by the World Bank from participating or bidding for port projects. The debarment, which is irrelevant for the present purposes, only applied to World Bank-funded projects related to roads and bridges,” the Chinese company says in a letter sent to EACC.
EACC detectives have questioned several past and current KPA managers over the tender.
Ona sasa. Why are Africans…
Ona sasa. Why are Africans so foolish?!
I’ll answer myself, greed…
I’ll answer myself, greed. So wrong that you steal and leave so many poor and still manage to show yourself in public smiling. I went to school with slot of these thieves kids in Kenya and it baffled me that some were “proud” of the fact that they could not speak Swahili and were able to fly out of the country and buy expensive clothes and all. I met one of them a couple of years back in Kenya and to my surprise he could actually speak Swahili! Well, dad could steal anymore after getting the sack. Africans need to get serious.
Ni nini mbaya na viongozi…
Ni nini mbaya na viongozi wetu? Kwani tunaongozwa na ngombe?
It is with Chinese collusion…
It is with Chinese collusion that our politicians like Uhuruto are able to steal money from tax payers. A project costs 15 billion the politicians and high officials instruct them to further inflate so they can take their cut. Project ends up costing more than double and the thieves end up pocketing 25 billion.
This is the war against…
This is the war against corruption by the boy in statehouse. The worst president ever in Kenya. He has been a project for too long. The Chinese boys have taken over from the Indian girls. Bure kabisa
If the chinese company is…
If the chinese company is not able to do the job for the original bid of 15 billion, then the contract should be cancelled.
As usual i will wait for…
As usual i will wait for more clarification to comment further juu sitaki kuongea kama fisi juu sisi wakenya tunapenda kuongea upuzi saaanna instead of first waiting to hear more facts???Who controls world bank n must they tell us who should b given contracts or not????This world bank talks shits most of the time about African countries growth/poverty levels n will involve themselves in politicis dhivhbthey r not supposed to????So can u guys who have started to comment negativity tells me who controls world bank???
Wait clarification from who?…
Wait clarification from who? Blame WB again?In the absence of a counter argument or if you don’t like the message then criticize the messenger.
@jamama can u answer my…
@jamama can u answer my questions!Who controls world bank,UN,ICC??They refused to help us grow for the last 50 years n today they r opposed to any chinese projects in Africa??Wr not fools anymore as Africa n we will continue to work with china.With china their loan conditions r not complicated so WB wakae na pesa zao which they loan to us n also wants to control us on what to do with the cash.