Fresh details have now emerged how the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation rogue officials could have colluded with a trader to fraudulently award a local consultancy firm a multimillion contract to undertake consultancy services for implementation of Mwache Dam Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) and Vulnerable and Marginalised Group Plan at a cost of Sh342million, The Informer can authoritatively reveal.
According to insiders, the consultancy contract was awarded to Frontman Consultants Limited in 2019, Contract No: MOWS/KWSCRP-2/002/2018-2019.
Consequently, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) wrote a demand letter to the Water Ministry to help recover tax arrears amounting to Sh8.3million from Sh342million payment made to Frontman Consultants.
The tax man said he is seeking to recover a total of Sh8,342,851.
“In exercise of the powers conferred upon me by section 42 of the tax procedures Act ,2015, I hereby declare you to be an agent of the above taxpayer and require you to pay me the sum of Ksh 8,362,851 being tax due by the said taxpayer from any money.” A correspondence by KRA reads in part.
A pile of documents seen by The Informer and were submitted by the successful tenderer as proof of the firm’s past engagements allegedly from Tanathi Water Services Board (TAWSB) and National Irrigation Authority (NIA), formerly National Irrigation Board (NIB) respectively have been questioned by ministry insiders and are suspected to be a forgery.
According to the records presented, through a Notification of Award letter allegedly from TAWSB, Frontman Consultants claimed they were awarded tender for the implementation of the RAP for compensation of Yatta Dam at a cost of Sh24.7million.
Curiously, the said letter of award is dated September 10, 2009 and referenced Ref. No. TAWSB/PRO 4 Vol.III (99) year before the tender was floated.
Further, additional glaring discrepancy in the alleged notification by Tanathi Water Services Board shows the award was issued four years before Frontman Consultants Limited came into existence having been incorporated on June 20, 2012.
The alleged tender at Tanathi Water Services Board is quoted as Tender No. TAWSB/17/2010-2011.
“What is the Informer? Are you not extortionist? Is Maingi there? When was the last time you spent a night in a police station?” Paul Kitonga Daudi, a director at Frontman Consultants Limited quipped while talking to us on phone.
However, his co-director Stella Mary Mwangangi did not respond to both phone calls and short text messages sent to her as a right of reply.
Similarly, despite incessant attempts to contact the Tanathi Water Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Eng. Fredrick Tito Mwamati through calls, mail and messages, by the time of going to publication, he did not respond to our queries to confirm or deny the authenticity of the notification of award letter that Frontman Consultants Limited submitted to the Ministry of Water as evidence of their previous works.
Also, NIA CEO Gitonga Mugambi could neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of the letter of endorsement presented by Frontman Consultants to Ministry of Water indicating that the authority engaged the services of the tenderer “in the Development of Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Implementation of RAP for Compensation for Thiba Dam, Mwea Irrigation Scheme, Kirinyaga County dealing with around 2000 PAPS.” The letter dated February 12, 2018 referenced, Our Ref: NIB/HQ/ADM25/19 reads in part.
The seven-year World Bank funded project at a cost of Sh20billion through Kenya Water Security Programme is expected to eradicate the problem of water shortage in the counties of Kwale, Mombasa, and Kilifi.
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