Group hails ACB on Marka-Bangula Railway probe
The Centre for Mindset Change (CMC) says it has been vindicated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for disqualifying Mota-Engil from being awarded the Marka-Bangula railway rehabilitation contract.
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by its executive director Philip Kamangila, CMC says it blew the whistle on the alleged dubious tendering process and it is proud that the ACB is now acting.
Reads the statement in part: “CMC is excited that ACB is investigating Mota-Engil. This is because CMC wrote ACB on 6th September 2021 after receiving several information from Roads Authority and Ministry of Transport and Public Works on suspected corrupt activities by Mota-Engil and some officials handling the tender.”
The statement further calls on ACB to investigate all officials from Roads Authority and Ministry of Transport and Public Works suspected of playing a part in the said dubious tender process.
On December 3 this year, the ACB issued a statement stopping the Ministry of Transport and Public Works from going ahead to award the contract to Mota-Engil and ordered it to re-evaluate the other two competitors and within 15 days to identify one to be awarded the contract.
The ACB, therefore, recommended that the Ministry of Transport and Public Works should re-evaluate the last three bidders.
In August this year, the ministry published a notice of intention to award the Marka-Bangula railway rehabilitation contract to Mota-Engil but on September 4 this year, ACB issued a statement stopping the intention.
Mota-Engil emerged the successful bidder of the 72-kilometre railway contract with the lowest price of K48.2 billion against two other companies China Railway (K59.9 billion) and China Civil Engineering (K79.7 billion).
