Two firms named in the scandal where the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) is accused of initiating a project on a disputed piece of land yesterday snubbed a parliamentary committee citing a court case over the matter.
The firms, Ujenzi Consultants and Baseline Architects failed to honour the invite by the Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture which has been examining the report of the Auditor General on the financial statement of the fund for the financial year 2019/2020 and 2020/2021.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu had flagged the matter where the Fund paid Sh1.44 billion to the consultants.
Payments were made in respect of arbitration awards to architects, quantity surveyors and other professionals.
However, management of the two firms failed to show up and instead called the committee chairperson Emmanuel Wangwe to inform him that they would not appear since the matter is currently before court and therefore prejudicial to deliberate it outside.
Fund supervision
Wangwe’s committee states that Baseline was identified by the fund to offer supervision of the project but after the visit by the MPs to the intended project nothing had been carried out but the payment was made to Baseline.
The committee thus wanted the management to explain the reason the payment was made to the firm without offering any services.
“The contract agreement was that Baseline do the designs for the fund, was the design done and any evidence to showcase the same?” the committee sought to know.
Further, the committee wanted the management to explain how it won the tender and whether the procedure of procurement followed or it was a single sourcing.
Inspection visit
On Ujenzi’s involvement, the Committee notes that it undertook an inspection visit to physically verify the disputed ownership of Karen land LR. No. 24968/2 measuring 10 hectares and the doubtful work- in -progress of Sh1,444,687,484 in respect of payments for the proposed Resource Centre on the Karen land.
The committee during its deliberations heard that, on April 29,2002, Ujenzi Consultants was appointed and commissioned as a consulting quantity surveyor for the development of the NHIF Resource Centre.
Further and according to available information, the NHIF paid Sh1.4 billion to various consultants in respect of arbitration awards to architects, quantity surveyors and other professionals engaged, business plans, financial analysis consultancy, legal fees, architectural design service fees and feasibility studies.
They established that the Sh1.44 billion was a possible loss of public funds and wanted the management of Ujenzi Consultants to explain.
“In this regard the committee has resolved to invite you to appraise it of the circumstances surrounding your appointment as a consulting quantity surveyor for the development of the resource centre,” read the letter to the firm.
The committee wanted the firm’s management to state the total amount of money received from the fund with respect to the quantity surveyors and feasibility studies services.
In this regard, the committee wanted the management of Ujenzi Consultants to explain the procedure used to identify them in the said project and whether it was single-sourced and if it tendered for the same.
“Can the consultancy demonstrate to what extent it offered its consultancy and how the payment was done, was it one payment term and what are the terms of the consultancy?” the committee sought.
