By Our Reporters
New shocking details have emerged indicating that government was warned about Motal Engil’s unsuitability to do phase 2 of the 21kms Kampala Northern bypass road as early as 2013. At Euros 47.2m, the Portuguese firm was hired to expand the bypass road to become a 4 lane dual carriage way. The other expected output was construction of 3 new footbridges at Kyebando, Naalya and Ntinda to enable pedestrians safely cross the road. The other deliverable was the construction of 6 new grade-separated interchanges at Sentema, Hoima road, Gayaza road, Bukoto, Kyebando, Ntinda and Naalya. There would also be improved lighting and the overall segregation of facilities for motorists and pedestrians. Motal Engil was also to deliver a road facility with central reserve safety barriers. The EU, which is currently displeasured, was to provide the original Euros 47.2m funding. The work was to be completed within 3 years (July 2014-July 2017). Clearly, as MPs protested in our previous story, Motal Engil has reneged on all this and currently only 51% of the work has been delivered. This has given the contractor (backed by COWI the supervising consultant) justification to demand an additional Euros 175m in prolongation costs. The new cost now is Euros 175m and (without EU giving more), the GoU will have to use the tax payers’ money to pay the remainder of the new contract sum. Blame has since been put onto complications in securing the site because some of the project affected persons have since become complicated either by making very outrageous demands or challenging the project in court. During the Thursday inspection tour, Finance Minister Matia Kasaijja, State Works Minister Katumba Wamala and the EU delegation head Attilio Pacifici were informed the contractor will only deliver the job within the remaining time (up to 2021-making them 7 years) if GoU helps them overcome compensation claims. But experts have since questioned the variation of the contract scope (from Euros 47m to Euros 175m) as contrary to the PPDA Act which prohibits variations beyond 25%. In that case UNRA (that stands accused for failing to reprimand the consultant or even cash his PI) should ordinarily have tendered out the excess work. This 25% restriction was imposed by PPDA in 2013 to prevent entities from abusing contract management leading to financial loss. Otherwise unchecked variation deprives government of money as the contractor and supervision consultant make super normal profits through earning additional income on the same project. This is so because they will both stay longer on the project site. Reached for a comment, works Minister Monica Azuba refused to comment saying her colleague Katumba Wamala was more conversant with the latest on the Motal Engil’s perceived ineptness. The Motal Engil project manager also refused to comment saying he was new on the job and was still acquainting himself with what has gone wrong giving his company a bad name in Uganda. Matia Kasaija too refused to comment saying “I’m tired of those issues please call the works ministry.”
WHISTLE BLOWER WARNED GOV’T;
Sources in the IGG office have revealed that as early as 2013, a red flag was raised disputing Motal Engil’s suitability for the job. And as a result of the whistle blower petition, detectives from the IGG’s office and procurement regulator PPDA commenced investigations. They specifically looked out for evidence of alleged corruption and conflict of interest in the way the Portuguese Company (Motal Engil) was awarded the contract to expand the Northern bypass in Kampala (from two to four lanes). The distance was originally said to be 18kms. PPDA sources with good institutional memory of what transpired back then say that when UNRA embarked on the procurement process to get the best bidder for the project, some government officials began putting pressure on UNRA management favoring certain companies. Arguing they didn’t want to land into problems, UNRA bosses stood their ground saying they would only give the job to the best evaluated bidder at the end of the procurement process. The troublesome invisible actors, determined to get their way, resorted to arguing that if a company from Europe didn’t get the bypass job, EU grants to the roads sector would diminish. Investigations by both IGG and PPDA initially showed that UNRA management had no option because the pressure was too much. They reluctantly gave in and in the end the deal went to much favored Portuguese firm Motal Engil (which had quoted 76.5m Euros: roughly Shs230bn). This was at the expense of much experienced RCC/SBI (from Nigeria and Israel) which had quoted 65.5m Euros as the contract sum. Obviously, SBI was the cheaper option resulting in higher value for money for the taxpayer and government but the powerful Portuguese firm backers insisted that UNRA must give the job to Motal Engil, lest Uganda loses some of the multi-billion EU grants that had been promised for the roads sector in the coming years. UNRA was told to sign the deal in favor of Motal Engil or else there would be no immediate money for the Bypass expansion project.
PPDA INVESTIGATIONS;
Back them Cornelia Sabiiti (now a judge) was the ED for PPDA and confirmed her agency was investigating this obvious financial loss deliberately occasioned to government in this bypass expansion deal. Sabiiti-led PPDA back then (2013/14) investigated many projects and procurements in the roads sector prominent among them was the bypass case. Sources familiar with PPDA investigations back then said that investigators relentless inquired into why government officials were pushing UNRA to favor Motal Engil well knowing that would result into the taxpayer and government losing or paying 11m Euros (about Shs35bn) over and above what SBI/RCC was charging to deliver the same quality of road. Sources close to the matter claimed that SBI/RCC, which was then also executing the Katuna road works, had longer experience and better track record working with UNRA on Ugandan roads than Motal Engil which powerful government officials were fronting for their curious interest. Back then were fears that the Sabiiti-led PPDA investigations would result into the bypass contract being cancelled because of the glaring irregularities. In fact, stung by this glaring injustice, SBI/RCC had at some point dragged government of Uganda to court quoting Attorney General and UNRA as 1st and 2nd respondents respectively. Prominent Kampala lawyer Daudi Mpanga was SBI/RCC’s lawyer in this High Court case which was eventually withdrawn and the entire dispute settled out of court. This was after SBI realized that the court process, which can sometimes get belligerent and very adversarial, could jeopardize its future dealings with UNRA and the government of Uganda. Apparently they got some money and grumblingly withdrew the case but that never prevented the IGG and PPDA (two offices which initially seemed determined to clean up the roads sector) from separately investigating. In the bypass investigations the two powerful ladies then (Mulyagonja and Cornelia Sabiiti) had the active backing of the mighty in State House whose Roads Monitoring Unit (RMU then headed by workaholic Eng Benon Abaho) had previously been unearthing a lot of rot in the sector. Abaho’s RMU had secretly been originating many secretive reports to the President to that effect. “That is why PPDA and IGG were very much emboldened in the bypass investigation despite the fact that Motal Engil had very powerful backers amongst too in the same government,” recalls one of the sources we spoke to for this article. Sources added that some of the powerful Motal Engil backers at some point got very bitter with UNRA management and prayed for their professional career downfall.
IGG GETS WIND OF SCAM;
Sources say it was the IGG Mulyagonja who learnt about the bypass problem before the more capacitated PPDA got involved to consolidate investigations into the disputed procurement of Motal Engil. Besides Motal Engil and SBI/RCC, other international Companies that had bided for the bypass job include Kolin Insaat Turizm (from Turkey 146m Euros), Strabaga (from Germany 87.8m Euros), Sogea Satom (from France 126m Euros), Effage TP (from France 121m Euros) and Impresa (from Italy 120.5m Euros). In the end, all these were eliminated, remaining with SBI/RCC (65.5m Euros) and Motal Engil (76.5m Euros) which eventually took the job, despite clearly being a more expensive bidder. Motal Engil’s backers banked on the fact that the bypass expansion project was being funded by government of Uganda, European Union (EU) and European Investment Bank (EIB) to make their case in favor of the Portuguese firm. EU and EIB put the bigger chunk of the money and UNRA bosses were blackmailed with claims that EU and EIB would quit funding road sector if the deal went to a company that isn’t European. UNRA sources insist that giving the bypass job to Motal Engil was irregular because all engineers’ reports had clearly recommended SBI/RCC because it was the lowest bidder. That notwithstanding, Motal Engil backers wrote strongly worded letters mostly in August 2014 insisting the Portuguese firm must take the bypass job. UNRA management was directed to urgently conclude and award the job to Motal Engil.
MUBENDE-KAKUMIRO SAGA:
The success on the bypass road gave Motal Engil backers appetite to demand for more including the Mubende-Kakumiro road project. It was about upgrading the 107km Mubende-Kakumiro-Kagadi road. It was a multi-billion project which PPDA sources recall Motal Engil was being favored to take it. Sources to him say that Eng John Byabagambi (who was then powerful State Minister for Works) wrote letters to the President naming government officials who were favoring Motal Engil. He protested what he called interference by powerful technocrats and leaders in the Mubende-Kakumiro procurement in a manner that favored some contractors against others. Sources close to Byabagambi say that back then 7 contractors had bided for Kakumiro and UNRA was ordered to curiously drop the five firms (at the technical evaluation stage-basically designs details) to remain with only two (at the financial evaluation stage). The two successful firms going to the financial evaluation stage were from Portugal and Turkey. Emboldened by fearless Byabagambi’s letter protesting interference by Motal Engil backers, UNRA bosses opted for a safer way by calling in the entity’s UK-based procurement consultants from a Company called Crown Agents. This UK firm had been undertaking what is technically called IPBE-Independent Parallel Bids’ Evaluation for UNRA on different road projects for many years. This Mubende-Kakumiro road had been catered for within the FY2014/15 and Byabagambi’s major argument was that the more bidders you have in the process the better because that results into government getting the best deal rather than skewing up the procurement process to favor certain Companies. Sources say determination to stand in Motal Engil’s way antagonized Byabagambi with many powerful people and eventually caused him political problems finally leading to his removal from the juicy works docket. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
