Uganda:Court stops bid again

NICHOLAS KALUNGI 

A Kampala court on Thursday issued fresh orders directing the government and all authorities to stop considering a bid by China International Water & Electric Company (CWE) to build the Karuma Hydro Power Dam.

High Court in Nakawa also suspended the search for a contractor for the construction of the 600 megawatts power plant. The suspension raises fresh questions about President Museveni’s reported granting of a green-light for CWE to be given the $2 billion contract. Weeks earlier, a private citizen, Mr Twine Muganga, had on September 10 through his lawyers asked that the government withholds the Chinese company’s offer on grounds of falsification of bid documents.

“That the bid submitted by CWE contained gross misrepresentations, falsehood and exaggerations of CWE’s capacity and experience to handle the Karuma HPP project intended to mislead the respondent and gain unfair advantage over the worthwhile bidders,” part of an affidavit sworn by Mr Twine reads.

The court order read by Mr Muse Misimbi, assistant registrar at Nakawa High Court, said: “An interim order doth issue and is hereby issued restraining the respondent, its agents, assignees, servants and or employees from dealing with, processing, considering, opening the bid (financial or otherwise) submitted by CWE.” It also directed that all procurement processes be stopped until Mr Muganga’s application has been disposed of.

Energy Minister Irene Muloni and her junior Simon D’ujanga said yesterday they were not aware of Thursday’s directive.

Ms Muloni said: “I am upcountry. I do not know about that interim order. The injunction I knew was disposed off last week. Contact the permanent secretary.

Mr Kabagambe Kaliisa, the Energy PS, was neither answering nor returning our calls. Meanwhile, Mr Fred Ruhindi, the deputy attorney general, yesterday refuted claims that the President is interfering in the project.

Mr Ruhindi appeared to directly contradict what his senior, Mr Peter Nyombi, the Attorney General, said at the weekend when he confirmed that a meeting attended by the President and senior Energy ministry officials agreed to hand over the project to CWE: “I am not aware of the President getting involved in the procurement process... Yours (media reports) is simply speculative.”

Mr Peter Walubiri, a city advocate said it is illegal for the President to interfere: “Procurement process is done under the law. Any case of complaints, you can raise them with the procurement entity – in this case ministry of Energy. If not satisfied, you go to PPDA and if not contented still you petition the High Court.” Thursday’s suspension in the process is the latest in a series of controversies surrounding the long overdue Karuma project.

Twenty four hours after the court stopped any proceedings following Mr Muganga’s application, the High Court sitting lifted a separate injunction it had placed on the search for a potential contractor of the same project.

Source: Daily Monitor (25/09/2012): http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Karuma++Court+stops+bid+again/-/688334/1516342/-/qnbq86/-/index.html