MINISTER of Works and Supply, Kapembwa Simbao, has black-listed Tomorrow Investments Limited and its directors and directed the National Council for Construction (NCC) not to renew the construction firm’s 2008 contractor registration certificate because the firm had performed badly.
Mr Simbao said Tomorrow Investments Limited was registered with NCC in 2005 when the authority began registering contractors.
The firm had fulfilled the gazetted NCC contractor registration requirements and there had been no documented adverse performance reports from clients and supervising consultants.
The minister who was speaking at a press briefing in Lusaka yesterday, however, said the NCC must reject the application by Tomorrow Investments Limited to have their certificate renewed for 2008.
He said the firm had not yet submitted for renewal its NCC contractor registration certificate.
“It should be noted, however, that Tomorrow Investments has of today 8th January, 2008 (yesterday) not renewed their 2008 certificate.
Should they apply for renewal, the NCC will decline such registration in view of their demonstrated poor past performance and conduct,” Mr Simbao said.
The refusal of registration would also apply to any joint venture partners who undertook projects jointly with Tomorrow Investments Limited in the recent past and other contractors whose performance had been classified as poor.
The minister warned that the firm’s directors and joint venture partners would be held liable for prosecution individually and severally for any payments they received without any corresponding delivery of products and services.
Similarly, consultants and Government professionals found to have certified works of poor workmanship would be liable for prosecution and suffer commensurate sanctions.
“Such directors who shall be held for poor performance of their companies shall equally be excluded from future consideration by NCC even in the other companies that they may form or join,” he said.
All contractors whose applications would not be accepted this year and in future, would be advised of their shortfalls by the NCC and in compliance with the law, no unregistered contractor would be eligible for award of any Government contract.
Mr Simbao warned that contractors, consultants and clients found abrogating the provisions of the contract would be dealt with severely.
The minister said he had no idea who the directors of Tomorrow Investments Limited were and urged Zambians to report instances of poor performance to NCC without hesitation.
The Office of the Auditor-General on Monday began a project audit on Tomorrow Investments Limited to establish why the firm still received Government contracts despite doing shoddy works.
The probe follows President Mwanawasa’s order for an audit of the construction firm, which was doing badly.
Meanwhile, Public Accounts Committee chairperson, Charles Milupi, has revealed that the tender committee of the Ministry of Works and Supply awarded Tomorrow Investments Limited the Katima Mulilo Bridge contract against Mr Simbao’s advice.
Mr Milupi said this in Lusaka yesterday at the OAG media workshop on reporting expenditure and financial accountability.
Mr Milupi, however, said Tomorrow Investments was not the only company that did not perform well in year 2005 but that all companies working on capital projects performed badly.
He said none of the capital projects undertaken in the year 2005 were done properly because the projects were not completed on time, were of substandard quality, and outside the projected cost.
“None of the road projects were completed according to these three elements, this has slowed down the rate of development,” Mr Milupi said.
He cited the Katima Mulilo Bridge border project, Chirundu Bridge Border infrastructure, Mongu-Kalabo road, Mbesuma Bridge and the Nakonde-Kanyala road among others.
He was concerned that a number of contracts entered into with some contractors in the year 2005 disadvantaged Government.
He said there was a provision for advance payments in some contracts, which resulted in the payment of some companies, which who could not perform.
Mr Milupi said companies that were awarded Government contracts should perform without going back to Government for advance payments.
Government contracts were bankable and that financial institutions would be willing to give them loans on account of that.
He also said reports that K900 billion was not utilised in the 2007 national budget was a national scandal, which must shame everyone associated with it.
He said under-spending was just as bad as over-spending.
“In terms of budgetary management, what you say will be done needs to be done,” Mr Milupi said.
Auditor General, Anna Chifungula said the issue of the K900 billion unutilised money in the 2007 national budget would become an audit query if the money were not spent by March 31, 2008.
She explained that it takes three months for Government cheques to become stale and that there could be some payments yet to be made.
“That will become an audit query after March because the Budget will be out and the coffers will be clear. If the money is still there, we believe it will still be used,” Ms Chifungula said.
[Daily Mail]
