{"id":49345,"date":"2023-09-16T20:54:51","date_gmt":"2023-09-16T20:54:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/hrdc-urges-govt-to-reject-contractors-demand-for-backdoor-40-increase-in-bid-price"},"modified":"2023-09-16T21:01:48","modified_gmt":"2023-09-16T21:01:48","slug":"hrdc-urges-govt-to-reject-contractors-demand-for-backdoor-40-increase-in-bid-price","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/hrdc-urges-govt-to-reject-contractors-demand-for-backdoor-40-increase-in-bid-price","title":{"rendered":"HRDC urges govt to reject contractor\u2019s demand for backdoor 40% increase in bid price"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. <\/strong><\/span>Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has asked the government to reject the proposed 40 percent increase in the Marka-Bangula Railway line contracted budget.<\/p>\n

The coalition has also called upon the Ministry of Transport and Public Works to conduct a thorough and impartial review of the budget increase for the Marka-Bangula Railway line, including an independent assessment of the contractor\u2019s justifications, stressing that the ministry should not accept abusive price adjustment of the contract.<\/p>\n

This follows revelations that a Chinese company contracted to design, upgrade and rehabilitate the railway line is demanding a 40 percent increase on the price the firm initially charged to win a contract in July 2023.<\/p>\n

Should the Minister of Transport and Public Works, Jacob Hara, approve the bid price adjustment, it is the poor heavily taxed Malawian that stands to be skinned and roasted.<\/p>\n

Our independent investigations have established that the contracted firm has changed tune and is now demanding MK96,044,941,302.16 up from MK68,279,419,378.91 plus 15 percent additional cost, with technocrats in the ministry already pushing Hara to approve the increase even without the knowledge and approval from the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA).<\/p>\n

But HRDC, through a statement released on Thursday in reaction to our story published on Wednesday, urged authorities at the Capital Hill to enhance oversight mechanisms for large infrastructure projects, including more stringent evaluation of contractor bids and better monitoring of project progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government should prioritize transparency and engage with the public by providing regular updates on the status and costs of major infrastructure projects. This ensures that taxpayers are informed about how their money is being spent. If any wrongdoing is discovered, appropriate legal actions should be taken against contractors who engage in the practice of submitting unrealistically low bids with the intent of inflating project budgets later,\u201d reads a statement signed by the coalition\u2019s national chairperson, Gift Trapence and he entire leadership.<\/p>\n

Trapence further urged the government to take proactive steps to protect the interests of Malawian taxpayers, including conducting due diligence on contractors and ensuring that the costs presented at the outset of a project are realistic.<\/p>\n

HRDC has also called upon the government, the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, and all relevant stakeholders not to accept the 40 percent contracted budget increase for the Marka-Bangula railway line. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that public funds are utilized effectively, transparently, and for the benefit of all citizens.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to monitor this situation closely and will not hesitate to take further action to safeguard of the tax payers,\u201d vowed Trapence.<\/p>\n

But in a separate interview on Thursday, the Minister of Transport and Public Works, Jacob Hara, said the demand is not coming from the contractor, stating that MR 94 is changing the scope of works and the contractor is giving MR94 the cost for what the client is looking for.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the other hand, being a design and build contract, the contractor in consultation with Engineers is proposing a more climate resilient design after cyclone Freddy experience. I have asked for the details of the new scope. Depending on the outcome, we may not do everything that is being requested now. It will be prudent to keep the cost as initially agreed, save for devaluation effects,\u201d said Hara.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdditional scope can be considered on a separate contract. That\u2019s how we handle road contracts. When contractors insist on price changes that are outside our limits to effect, we usually terminate the contract and repackage it for re-tendering. We do this in order to curb any sort of conniving with contractors to stop defrauding government.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Malawi<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has asked the government to reject the proposed 40 percent increase in the Marka-Bangula Railway line contracted budget. The coalition has also called upon the Ministry of Transport and Public Works to conduct a thorough and impartial review of the budget increase for the Marka-Bangula Railway line, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":49343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[233,371,234],"class_list":["post-49345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-malawi","tag-malawi"],"yoast_head":"\nHRDC urges govt to reject contractor\u2019s demand for backdoor 40% increase in bid price - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has asked the government to reject the proposed 40 percent increase in the Marka ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/hrdc-urges-govt-to-reject-contractors-demand-for-backdoor-40-increase-in-bid-price\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HRDC urges govt to reject contractor\u2019s demand for backdoor 40% increase in bid price\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has asked the government to reject the proposed 40 percent increase in the Marka ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/hrdc-urges-govt-to-reject-contractors-demand-for-backdoor-40-increase-in-bid-price\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-16T20:54:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-16T21:01:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2023\/09\/sm_1694881901.773754.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"527\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/hrdc-urges-govt-to-reject-contractors-demand-for-backdoor-40-increase-in-bid-price#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/hrdc-urges-govt-to-reject-contractors-demand-for-backdoor-40-increase-in-bid-price\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"HRDC urges govt to reject contractor\u2019s demand for backdoor 40% increase in bid price\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-16T20:54:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-16T21:01:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/hrdc-urges-govt-to-reject-contractors-demand-for-backdoor-40-increase-in-bid-price\"},\"wordCount\":625,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/hrdc-urges-govt-to-reject-contractors-demand-for-backdoor-40-increase-in-bid-price#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2023\/09\/sm_1694881901.773754.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Malawi\",\"Malawi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/hrdc-urges-govt-to-reject-contractors-demand-for-backdoor-40-increase-in-bid-price#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/hrdc-urges-govt-to-reject-contractors-demand-for-backdoor-40-increase-in-bid-price\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/hrdc-urges-govt-to-reject-contractors-demand-for-backdoor-40-increase-in-bid-price\",\"name\":\"HRDC urges govt to reject contractor\u2019s demand for backdoor 40% increase in bid price - 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