UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA) has cited irregularities by the Parliamentary Commission during the procurement process of the office space at the Kingdom Kampala building, owned by real estate muloodi Sudhir Ruparelia.
PPDA’s executive director, Benson Turamye, compiled a letter to the accounting officer of the Parliamentary Commission containing revelations of these irregularities.
The nine-page letter dated September 9, 2021, was also sent to the Inspectorate of Government and the head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit.
This follows a June 28 petition by a whistleblower called Jonas Tumushabe, challenging how Parliament closed the deal with Kingdom Kampala Ltd for the office space without considering other service providers.
PPDA seeks to determine whether the agreement to rent 9,030 square metres of office space met the PPDA Act, 2003 and regulations.
In March, the Parliamentary Commission approved a proposal to rent an additional office because of the delay by ROKO Construction Ltd to complete the construction of the new chamber of Parliament.
During the meeting, the Parliamentary Commission resolved to use a direct procurement method because of limited time based on the guidance of Mr Ahmed Kagoye, the department of Sergeant-At-Arms.
Mr Ahmed Kagoye, on March 30, directed the senior assistant Sergeant-At-Arms to conduct a survey of Kingdom Kampala in square metres for hire of office premises.
The senior assistant Sergeant-At-Arms undertook the market survey on 13 facilities as per the list of properties submitted by Knight Frank Uganda Ltd.
The specifications in the list of the 9.030 square metres included parking space for over 300 vehicles, 24-hour security, and an ICT infrastructure configured for the main Parliament building.
However, the market survey report showed that Kingdom Kampala Ltd was the only building that met the requirements.
According to Mr Turamye’s letter, the Parliamentary Commission had no authority to recommend direct procurement as guided by the user department in contravention of the PPDA Act 2003 and the Administration of Parliament Act1997.
Mr Turamye also noted that the survey was not conclusive since it did not consider any other potential premises in the market besides Knight Frank (U) Ltd’s management.
An additional discovery revealed that the figures quoted by the chief government valuer and the rental price quoted by Kingdom Kampala Ltd, including the service charge and parking slot fees, were identical to any deviation.
The price quoted by both parties was above the Shs699million, exclusive of Value Added Tax per month comprising headline rent (more than USh561 million), service charge (about USh82 million), and parking for 300 vehicles (more than USh54 million).
“…the authority found out that conspicuous similarity between the prices as quoted by the valuation team from the office of the government valuer. The prices quoted by Kingdom Kampala especially given the fact that the valuation was undertaken before initiation of the procurement and fluctuating US Dollar to Shillings exchange rate. [Which] implies that there was potential collusion between the Sergeant-At-Arms department and Kingdom Kampala in fixing the ultimate cost of rental space,” the letter reads in part.
According to the PPDA, the Parliamentary Commission signed a contract with the bidder to rent office space for more than USh19 million, resulting in a financial loss to the government of more than USh1.2 billion.
PDDA recommends that the Sergeant-At-Arms and the Contracts Committee be held accountable for the irregularities in the procurement exercise.
Parliament’s Reaction
When contacted, Parliament’s director of Communications and Public Affairs, Chris Obore, said there had been an investigation into several issues which he said will be addressed by the Clerk to Parliament when they are concluded.
“The Speaker has emphasised transparency in all aspects and I can assure you that for any investigation that is made, a decision will be made as established in the law,” Mr Obore said.
Mr Obore added: “The Clerk is a robust lawyer who wouldn’t want the name of the institution to be tarnished. Therefore, that letter from PPDA will be handled and a decision will follow.”
Mr Obore said the Parliamentary Commission would convene this week to discuss several issues and that we will discuss the PPDA findings if at all they bring the matter to the table.
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