By Peter Ssebulime
Kampala: The parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources has established that the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) accepted handpicked subcontractors to take up a project to connect 600 sub-counties to the power grid.
The Committee chaired by Kiboga East county Member of Parliament Keefa Kiwanuka met with the owners of the 12 prequalified subcontractors which were dumped by TBEA –China Company for the project, for which Shs1trillion was budgeted.
The Committee discovered while meeting with these subcontractors that they were dumped by TBEA after they asked the standard rate to have quality work on the project delivered.
In a closed meeting, the Committee noted that 59 subcontractors were prequalified, 14 pulled out and 33 handpicked in a questionable manner which could put the project at risk of delivering shoddy work, since the cost they submitted to be selected would not sustain the project.
However, Kinkizi West county MP James Kaberuka faulted the REA for single sourcing TBEA in this multibillion project.
The committee was tasked to investigate the delay of this desired project worth USD231m which was supposed to take off in January this but up to now it hasn’t started yet.
