This archive report was first published on 27 July 2021.
Published on July 27, 2021, REREC has embarked on a public relations drive to salvage its image.
The drive, which involves paying Twitter users to promote the agency, has been met with skepticism as it attempts to cover up the agency's corrupt activities.
At the center of the controversy is REREC Chairman Prof. Simon Gicharu and CEO Peter Mbugua, who have been accused of looting and corruption.
The agency has been exposed for overpricing fake electricity poles under the guise of going green.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that REREC had designed a tender to favor a specific company, Ecopole, which President Uhuru Kenyatta visited in Limuru last year.
The tender, which was approved by the Energy PS, forced REREC to procure 60,000 poles at Sh60,000 each, but with a bulk order to reduce the price to Sh55,000 per pole.
However, this price is thrice the cost of concrete poles, and the technology used by Ecopole has not been proven anywhere in the world.
Furthermore, the tender document specifications are based on Ecopole's brochure, and the standard is for poles to be dropped from a forklift at 3 meters high, which is a farce considering that there is no such test in the world.
Local manufacturers who have set up a plant for real composite products have been sidelined by the tender document, which has covered sizes, strengths, and designs of Ecopole.
Ecopole's technology is rudimentary and has never been proven anywhere, with false claims of UN goals and no certification of such approvals.
The agency's corruption must be stopped, and the public must be aware of the truth behind REREC's public relations drive.
