KENYA – The African Development Bank has debarred China-registered Sinotec Company Limited from its projects for three years for exaggerating its experience. 

An investigation conducted by the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that Sinotec misrepresented its experience, the value and dates of its reference contracts and its relationship with other bidders while participating in three Bank-financed tenders.  

The tenders came under the Regional Rusumo Falls Hydropower Project in Rwanda, the Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project and the Last Mile Connectivity Project in Kenya. 

Pursuant to a decision by the Bank’s Sanctions Appeals Board, the company will be debarred for a period of 36 months for engaging in fraudulent practices. 

“An investigation conducted by the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that Sinotec Company Ltd misrepresented its experience, the value and dates of its reference contracts and its relationship with other bidders while participating in three Bank-financed tenders,” said the AfDB in a statement. 

The debarment renders Sinotec Company Limited and its affiliates ineligible to participate in Bank-financed projects during the debarment period.  

The debarment qualifies for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions, including the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank Group. 

At the expiry of the debarment period, Sinotec Company Limited will only be eligible to participate in Bank-financed projects on the condition that it implements an integrity compliance programme consistent with the Bank’s guidelines. 

The Regional Rusumo Falls Hydropower Project has been financed by the African Development Fund, a constituent entity of the African Development Bank Group.

It was aimed at developing sustainable energy infrastructure to increase power generation and access to electricity through the construction of a hydropower generation plant and of transmission lines and substations. 

Sinotec’s brief in the project was mainly to design, supply and install 3,000km low-voltage single-phase lines and supply cables in Kisumu, western Kenya and Mount Kenya regions. 

Kenya Power is currently embroiled in a dispute with local contractors over mega projects. It is accused of locking them out of bidding in favour of foreigners.