This archive report was first published on 22 October 2019.
On October 22, 2019, Kenya Insights reported on the impending loss of Sh38 billion paid out as security advances and insurance for sub-contractors of stalled and unstarted dam projects.
Fast forward to today, a report by the National Assembly Environment Committee has revealed that the Chinese firm awarded the Sh37 billion Thwake Dam project tender had been blacklisted by the World Bank.
Water Ministry officials transferred Sh37 billion for the Thwake Dam project in Makueni to China Gezhouba Group Limited, despite the firm's history of procurement irregularity.
According to the report, the firm had been contracted to undertake the Thwake Dam project after being cleared by the Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) despite reservations by then Principal Secretary Patrick Mwangi.
The same blacklisted firm was also awarded the Sh6.8 billion Northern Water Collector Tunnel tender in Murang'a by the Water ministry.
This is not an isolated incident, as the Jubilee government has a history of awarding multi-billion tenders to non-existent or blacklisted firms.
For instance, the Parliament blacklisted French firm Idemia, formerly IT Morpho, after irregular procurement of election equipment in the 2017 General Election. The same firm was later awarded a Sh6 billion contract to provide Huduma Namba technology.
Another firm, Hydery (P) Limited, was allowed to import 35,000 tonnes of sugar in July last year, despite being blacklisted in 2013.
