AfricaPress-Tanzania: A COMMITTEE formed by Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Luhaga Mpina to probe into the construction of a laboratory for Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (Tafiri) in Dar es Salaam handed over a report to the ministry mid-this week, exposing serious violations of the law with poor management of the project.
Having leant the anomalies from the report submitted to the minister in Dar es Salaam, the minister instructed the Permanent Secretary in the ministry to revoke the appointment of the Southwest Indian Ocean Fisheries Governance and Shared Growth Project (SWIOFish) Project Manager, Flora Luhanga for failing to oversee the project.
He further directed a review of the contract of project consultant Y & P Architect Limited as well review 600m/- indicated in the contract to 600m/-instead of 1.2bn/- indicated in the current agreement and refund of an excess of 3 52m/-.
Mr Mpina also instructed the money to be deducted from the contractor Petra Construction Company Limited in a lump sum for the following payment 568m/-for failing to streamline its bonds early repayment and guarantee the implementation of the project and asked to pay 2.6m/-daily for failing to complete the project according to the contract from April 21, 2020.
On the money that will be deducted from the project amounting to over 500m/-it should be allocated to other uses, including repairing buildings and other infrastructure necessary for Tafiri headquarters.
Presenting the report of the committee, Fisheries Director Magesa Bulayi said the committee had identified serious legal violations and regulations to award the contractor Petra Construction Company Limited and Consultant Company Y & P Architect Limited.
The committee consisted of experts from the office of the Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, Tanzania Building Agency (TB A) and Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB ).
Mr Bulayi further said the committee noted that the company Petra Construction Company Limited was awarded the construction work of the project worth 2.6bn/- while it did not have the financial capacity which led to the poor construction of the project and completed by 65 per cent only, where according to the contract, the project was supposed to be completed on April 20, 2020.
The committee also found that initial payment guarantees and implementation of the project worth 598m/- expired since March 30, 2020 and the company, Petra Construction Company Limited, had not updated these securities.
Mr Bulayi said the committee also noted that the contractor company, Petra Construction Company Limited, promised orally to save more than 500m/- in the project which was never explained anywhere or classified where the money would be saved from.
He said they had also discovered that the consultant company, Y & P Architect Limited, was tasked to design and manage the lab project, the construction of houses for Marine Parks and Reserves Unit (MPRU) staff in Tanga, an administration building in Mafia worth 4.5bn/-, but the cost of the expert was 1.2bn/- equivalent to 27.4 per cent.
“The committee noted that these costs are high compared to the rates’ limit set by Architects and Quantity Surveyors Registration Board (AQRB ) where costs for a consultant ranges from the average 12.45 per cent to 13.75 per cent of the cost of the project, but the company was granted a 27.4 per cent different from the extent permissible,” he noted.
For their part, representative of the Contractor Company Petra Construction Limited, Valency Assenga said the reason for delays to continue with the project was the ongoing rain and coronavirus as representative of the Consultant Company Y & P Architect Anna Shayo claimed she had already written a letter to remind the contractor to update its securities.
