A whistle blower has written to Parliament, IGG, PPDA and the Ministry of Local Government (MLOG) PS Ben Kumumanya highlighting circumstances under which a fresh new scandal is about to explode at the same Ministry which years ago faced another LC1 Chairpersons’ bicycles scandal. This impending scandal relates to the procurement of 2,000 motorcycles the President promised for the Sub County Chiefs, Town Council and Municipal Divisions chairpersons. It’s expected to cost government between Shs25bn and Shs30bn.
The advert announcing the tender was run in New Vision on 25th April 2019 and more than 20 companies responded showing interest in supplying the 2,000 motorcycles. However, most bidders are increasingly becoming uncomfortable that it’s clear from the manner in which the procurement terms and conditions were drafted that this is a done deal and the procurement process is only a decoy aimed at sanitizing what is already pre-destined to be a fraudulent process.
The general feeling among bidders (with many already petitioning different offices raising a red flag) is that the MLOG officials are biased in favor of a sham company whose directors have much expertise in delivering fishing gear for the fishing industry and very little about transportation and more specifically the motor cycle manufacturing or importation business. Motorcycle business isn’t even listed in their articles and memorandum of association.
It’s suspected the entire procurement process is aimed at ratifying the MLOG officials’ already pre-meditated decision to give the contract to that shadowy firm whose directors are said to be planning to import poor quality motor bikes from China (like they did for a certain security agency on the eve of 2016 elections) and share the remainder of the money with well-connected government officials. The general feeling is the favored firm’s bosses are prepared to actually act as brokers between MLOG the procuring entity and the cheap bikes’ manufacturers in China and then earn 30% off the total contract sum expected to be around between Shs25bn and Shs30bn. On the previous occasion in 2016, the procuring security agency procured many motorcycles for its officers (using a proxy Kenyan company) but majority of them have since broken down, occasioning massive financial loss to the GoU.
The previous bicycles’ scandal at the MLOG in early 2010s caused maximum political embarrassment to the NRM and the opposition had a field day as Parliament passed a resolution requiring then MLOG PS John Muhanguzi Kashaka to leave office. He was subsequently prosecuted and convicted for criminally causing financial loss to the government. Shs5bn had been spent to procure 70,000 bicycles for the LC1 Chairpersons.
IRREGULARITIES
In his petition, a MLOG disgruntled insider acting as a whistle blower (whose concerns have been corroborated by numerous other petitions from concerned bidders) focusses the IGG and PPDA to a number of areas that show irregularities. One is the 15 days stated in the advert as not being enough for bidders to properly prepare paper work and adequately respond to the advert. One of the requirements is a bid security of Shs250m which many bidders can’t deliver in just two weeks. It will have to be held up to November 2019, a huge burden to many of the struggling local firms that the President wants to uplift through BuBu policy.
The other controversial requirement is for the successful bidder to be one who has supplied a minimum of 1,000 motorcycles to a GoU entity in the last 3 years preceding the procurement. The problem with this is that there isn’t a single government entity that has previously purchased so many motor bikes in the last 3 years.
In fact even Toyota Uganda, which is the official dealer for Yamaha (Japan) in Uganda, is bitter that they have always been sidelined in favor of mere commission agents who are quacks ever getting counterfeit Yamaha bikes from China which are falsely sold to the GoU entities disguised as genuine Yamaha products. On a recent occasion, the Toyota Uganda bosses petitioned World Bank when MAAIF sidelined them and awarded a huge motor bikes’ supply contract to a sham city tycoon who is merely an agent for the sham Yamaha dealers based in China.
The other requirement is for all bidders to demonstrate that the motorbike product they are vending has the status of being an internationally recognized brand but there are doubts the MLOG can carry out the required verification of all that in just 15 days that have been designated as the required period with which the politically very significant procurement must be completed. All this has fuelled suspicion that the framers of bidding requirements had a specific supplier in mind and advertising the job was just about complying with formalities. Disgruntled MLOG insiders insist that the entity being favored is a brief case company without even adequate URA-related documentation showing compliance to tax obligations. It’s also the company has very few branches across the country even when it has been in this briefcase business lucratively transacting with powerful government entities for now 17 years. The same entity was previously even blacklisted by PPDA for fraudulent practices.
Even the period within which dissatisfied parties can appeal the decision has been circumvented including the 15 days within which one must complain to the procuring entity’s accounting officer (in this case MLOG PS Ben Kumumanya) and eventually the 21 days within which to refer to PPDA in case the accounting officer’s explanation doesn’t satisfy the bidder.
There are also concerns that the excessive emphasis on international manufacturing connections deliberately locks out some local firms (doing motorcycle assembling here) which the President desires to benefit through Buy Uganda Build Uganda (BuBu) policy. The 2,000 motorcycles being procured are meant to facilitate the mobility of the Sub County Chief, Town Council and Municipal Division Chairpersons. It’s something the President personally promised, which makes it politically a very sensitive procurement for the purposes of the 2021 elections. (For comments, email us at mulengera2040@gmail.com).
