A Chinese contractor has won a 30bn/- contract to build Bank of Tanzania (BoT) branch office building in Mwanza, BoT Governor, Professor Benno Ndulu, told the ‘Daily News’.
The cost included value added tax. Prof Ndulu said China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) was awarded the contract after winning a tender seeking a contractor through competitive bidding last September.
He dismissed complaints by some bidders who lost, claiming that the Chinese firm flauted the country’s regulations relating to tax compliance and filing of annual returns with Business Registration and Licensing Agency.
“After the allegations were made we inquiry with TRA and BRELA which cleared the company,” Prof Ndulu said while directing Daily News to contact BoT Secretary to Tender Board, Robert Wanga.
Mr Wanga who is Head of Procurement at the Central Bank further noted that losing bidders have been opposing the award because of the CCECC’s bad records at Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and BRELA.
“TRA confirmed that the firm is among their large taxpayer while BRELA cleared them after paying all their outstanding dues,” Wanga stressed while noting that although CCECC’s BRELA records were tainted, the tender conditions did not include such an element.
“Filing annual returns with BRELA was not part of evaluation criteria, the bank noted it while verifying their legal existence in terms of company registration,” the BoT Secretary to Tender Board argued.
Sources in the construction industry said CCECC had defaulted on both taxes and BRELA filing of annual returns until it was shortlisted as a possible winning bidder.
The sources alleged that CCECC’s failure to comply with tax and company laws was enough to disqualify it from getting such a lucrative Central Bank contract.
In a tender invitation last September, BoT welcomed bidders for a proposed construction of BoT branch office building at Plot No 50 Block C along Makongoro Area in Mwanza City. China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) was established in 1979 under the approval of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.
