“Who signed on behalf of the Italian contractor?” posed the lead investigator in the probe that is also seeking to determine how some senior government officials received kickbacks in three multi-billion dams.
The tender blunders in the construction of three dams worth billions have seen the county lose money to a contractor who received huge loans guaranteed by the government of Kenya.
Investigations into the matte have unearthed major loopholes that cushion the contractor while sinking the taxpayer.
A significant proportion of the Sh91 billion meant to fund the dams has already been paid and at stake are huge loans the contractor borrowed.
The financial position of the contractor is in question yet the company has been guaranteed by the Government, meaning the loans will be repaid by Kenyans.
Detectives involved in the probe have been taken aback that while the project employer KVDA was represented by Managing Director David Kimosop, the counterparts in the contract were not CMC Di Ravenna.
What has been established so far is the fact that a firm was irregularly involved in the contract. Another company, CMC Di Ravenna Kenya, presented the bidding documents.
The two contracts, signed on May 5, 2017 with all the glaring irregularities, have come under sharp focus. There are concerns the selection process was compromised from the start.
The duration of the projects was 60 months, meaning the dams should be completed by April 22. However, no work has been done to date.
The contractor, when questioned, said not even the initial preparations – including designs and architectural drawing – have been made.
Events that followed the award of the contract, which have also been unearthed by the detectives, show a money trail that starts in Italy and ends in Nairobi, with a detour in London.
Italy’s Intensa SanPaolo and UniCredit are the lead arrangers of the syndicated loan, together with Belgian lender PNB Paribas. Proceeds were paid to the contractor but with approval of contractor’s engineers.
Such approvals would be issued as completion certificates, essentially confirming the amount of work already done before the corresponding funds are released.