Govt hires uncertified contractor for road project

A multi million kwacha Dwangwa Weighbridge project has stalled after the Ministry of Transport and Public Works awarded it to an unqualified company, raising questions on the ministry’s vetting systems.

The project along the M5 in Nkhotakota, which started in 2018, was supposed to be undertaken by a company with civil works certification.

But government gave it to  Union Building Contractors and later terminated the contract in the absence of civil works certification and awarded it to Ananiovu Construction Company which did not complete the project, leading to its termination, too.

Ministry of Transport and Public Works director of roads Kelvin Mphonda confirmed the development.

“The two contracts, which were for buildings and civil works, were terminated due to non-performance on the part of contractors and the contract period had expired,” he said in a response to a questionnaire on Wednesday.

Mphonda added that they expect to recruit new contractors to finalise the works.

“On the way forward, the remaining works have been repackaged and new contractors will be engaged shortly to finish the remaining construction works,” he said.

Asked why they approved an uncertified contractor for the weighbridge project and how much the contractors were paid, Mphonda referred the reporter to the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services (DRTSS).

However, DRTSS public relations officer Angelina Makwecha pushed us back to the ministry, arguing that it was well placed to answer the questions.

Jack Kamwendo, managing director of Union Building Contractors,   confirmed in an interview on Thursday that his company was not certified by the National Construction Industry Council (NCIC) to carry out civil works.

He said: “We started the project quite well. Later, they started to argue that in your company, you are not certified to do civil work, even though you are doing a wonderful job… Of course, they were right.”

According to the Information Platform for Public Infrastructure website www.ippi.mw, the project consisted of construction of weighbridge station, staff houses and external works.

A weighbridge is a machine that evaluates heavy vehicles to ensure that they are within the range of allowable load. It prevents overloading which causes damage to the roads.

The project, valued at K650 million, was scheduled to be completed in 2022, the website further says.

Union Building Contractors, however, told Nation on Sunday that having been stripped of constructing the weighbridge, they were allowed to continue with the construction of 12 staff houses, a component they were qualified to carry out.

“We were also constructing an office near the weighbridge. But because of non-payment, we were discouraged. As I am talking, it’s been over a year since we stopped. They owe us huge sums of money,” said Kamwendo.

He further stated that after they were stripped of the weighbridge project, they billed the government K120 million but it only paid K40 million.

Kamwendo said government is in the wrong as it has not been paying the contractors in line with contractual agreements.

Ananjobvu Construction Limited has also questioned government’s decision to terminate the contract.

Its director Chris Banda said they suspended the works after government did not heed to their request to adjust the project cost due to rising commodity prices.

“When we got the contract, it took almost eight months before we could  start the project. We  raised the issue with relevant authorities  that prices of commodities have changed because of the period taken before commencement of work.

“We were assured that this matter would be addressed. A month later, devaluation hit the country and all commodities including cement which was the main material to be used on the project. 

“We continued the works until 90 percent of them [were done] when we raised the issue again . The responsible officers refused that they wouldn’t increase funds as our contract did not allow that,” he said.

Banda has said they are seeking legal assistance to secure the balance.

He further warned that engaging another contract would be a waste of public resources as they have already done much of the work.

Kate Kujaliwa, public relations manager of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority, which vets and approves public projects contracts, had not yet responded to our questionnaire filed on Thursday, seeking justification for awarding the contract to an uncertified contractor.

On his part, National Construction Industry Council (NCIC) corporate affairs officer Lyford Gideon in a response to our questionnaire on Friday observed that awarding of contracts to unqualified firms was a result of failure to conduct a thorough check.

“We believe, therefore, that this would easily be avoided if procuring and disposing entities made a deliberate effort to check with our register,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency (Csat) has demanded action against those involved in the approval of the contract.

“This is wastage of taxpayers money and must be investigated. The revelation raises questions on the procurement processes and procedures, especially the integrity of public officers involved in the procurement processes,” said its executive director Willy Kambwandira.