The Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has demanded that the K4.7 billion tender for the construction of Kulima Tower bus station awarded to Chimwenda Investment Limited by the Patriotic Front-controlled Lusaka City Council be reviewed.
ZCTU president Leonard Hikaumba has also called on the Government to take action on the deteriorating standards at the LCC, saying the congress had followed events at the country’s biggest council with concern.
Mr Hikaumba said in Lusaka that the process leading to the awarding of a tender to Chimwenda Investment Limited should be reviewed and urged the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate the matter comprehensively.
The tender for the construction of Kulima Tower bus station was last year awarded to a company owned by the younger brother of immediate past Lusaka mayor Robert Chikwelete, a PF member.
Mr Hikaumba said tender procedures and rules should not be breached and the ACC should establish whether Mr Chikwelete had declared interest at any stage and that such minutes should be produced.
He said the Government had launched a decentralisation policy, whose implementation would need well-organised councils.
Mr Hikaumba said the Government needed to come up with long-term measures to stem the misuse of public resources.
He said continuous audits were needed in councils, backed by an institutional framework to oversee the operations of all councils.
The ZCTU leader said there had been a deliberate departure from such norms and that should there be need to dissolve LCC, the Government should not hesitate to do so.
He said street lighting and drainage upgrades should not be a problem in Lusaka because of the huge amounts of money the council was collecting, but that the services were not being provided.
Mr Chikwelete, who is a councillor for John Howard Ward 2 in Chawama Constituency, is the older brother of the proprietor of Chimwenda Investments Limited, Charles.
The minutes obtained in Lusaka revealed that Chimwenda Investment was awarded a tender despite the company losing to its competitor, China Jiangsu International.
China Jiangsu bid for K4,792,070,200 and Chimwenda lost because of its high bid of K5,177,493,029 but was later awarded the tender and was almost finishing the construction of the bus station.
Documents containing the whole bidding process dated September 16, 2010 also revealed that Chimwenda Investment lost at the engineers’ estimate stage when it scored 10 percentage deviation from the set standards while China Jiangsu International only had two per cent.
The lower figure represents the company’s closeness to winning the tender because it shows that the firm has lesser deviations from the engineers’ parameters.
The bids were advertised in the Times of Zambia and The Post newspapers and 15 firms responded while 13 were short-listed.
Meanwhile, Moomba Member of Parliament Vitalis Mooya has advised people holding influential positions to declare interest in writing when the institutions under their authority are awarding tenders.
Mr Mooya also questioned how LCC awarded a contract without considering the drainage and electric system at the Kulima Tower bus station.
Fyanta mbuzi za PF!!!!
A ZAMBIAN GOT THE CONTRACT and thats fine with me. Had mthis been a Zambian Vs another Zambian, I would concur.. Zambian vs Chinese… Go to hell all of you complaining about not rewarding the chinese. Six and tired of you TRAITORS. Kill your own brother for a foreigner!!!!
Not the Chinse again. We have enough of them…. stealing copper on the Copperbelt and rying to evade tax and for exporting raw native timber which is banned.
How d u expect the chinese to b doing alal the Jobs inZambia???? They have taken over roads construction, clinics, Police houses mtce of state house, building of stadia’s, asc hools etc. Everything pa Zed Chinese. I want tendersgiven to Zambians as lon as they have capaity and correct procedure followed. I’m shocked ZCTU Presido is now commenting on such matters and failing to talk about POOR Condition of service for worker in Zambia.
PF lusaka mayor robert chikwelete then awarded the an inflated contract to his young brother. igine thes lazos in govt they would uction they whole coutry it would be another uganda under idi amin.
You should expect more corruption if PF forms government next year. This is just a tip of the ice berg. Vote UPND
Please take matters seriously and be factual. That is the only way this country will develope and benefit evry one equally.
This article has a political agenda. But I am sure this PF run Council should be commended for applying common sense over no-sense. The fact that this gentleman’s quote was slightly higher should not be used to deny him a tender. If a Zambian firm has engineering capability, surely it has to be favoured against the chinese firm. This money will go to zambians, create jobs for Zambians, banked in Zambia, produce experience for zambians and thank God it is not going to China. We need the Chinese only for jobs we cannot do- full stop. To think otherwise you are as good as doomed
ba Hikaumba, you are a shame to the labor movement. you have allowed yourself to be used by MMD in this fashion. we have never heard you comment on serious national issues where your voice is needed but you can open your mouth on issues that benefit the rulling MMD. shame on you shameless man. an embarrassment to the movement. you have killed the movement.
Bidding the lowest does not mean you are successful. What if Chimwenda Investment Limited gave the best rates in their Bill of Quantities. As long as the attitude of not wanting your neighbor to succeed continues, this country will never go anywhere.
Can Hikaumba talk about the miners that were fired at Chambishi Mine for asking for a higher pay? Can he talk about the pooor salaries that most Zambians working at many companies in Zambia get. Can he please talk about the minimum wage that is way below the food basket. Clean your house before you start checking the dirt in other people’s houses.
Mr Hikaumba, you should demand for the review of all tenders awarded to Chinese firms as well! How come most of the schools, hospitals, police stations are being done by the Chinese? Did all these tenders go through the National Tender process…? Your Roy was on tv last night lashing out against PVT and today it’s you going on about tenders…! ZCTU seems to have lost focus (i.e. labour matters) and is zeroing in on politics! I guess you have to pay back your MMD backers at some point.
Why hasnt the Times reported that the ZTCU Gen Secretary has summoned the NAPSA board to explain the dubious land purchase? Why fail to avail this information to the public? Is the run by professional journalists? I say NO, it is being run by illitrates who are lead by William Banda and deputised by Chris Chalwe
There is more politics in this statement than commercial interests.
1. Did Mr Robert Chikwelete, a PF member, award the contract to Chimwenda Investment Limited or was it the council that awarded the contract?
2. Are companies owned by the families of the Councillors or indeed MPs excluded from tendering for Council projects?
3. Are tenders considered just because they are cheaper and not that they are the best with technical ability, period of completion, development to local companies, value to etc?
Not sure where the problem is. We are given a 10% advantage at Rural Electrification Authority (REA), when we bid against Chinese. This is part of president Mwanawasa’s policies to encourage Zambians win business preferentially.
What profession is Hikaumba? Guess he’s should be a primary school teacher to try and not apply common sense on simple matters. With the PF/UPND government in place this preference needs to be increased to between 15 – 20% to enable more and more Indigenous Zambians take place in the development of this Country. It’s as usual a non starter, mwanya bakolwe…………….
I would rather pay more for quality work than pay less for a substandard.
#11 mule – Good points. It is like if my son is an Engineer, I should not employ him in my co?
Hikaumba, you are out of your job description. Your job is on Labour matter which you are failing to handle. MMD made sure that you keep your position during elections because you are a liger. let serious leaders take over from, your employer, the employee are suffering well you are enjoying. Tojisi Nsoni.
Hikaumba needs to be educated on how tenders are awarded, its not just the amount of money that is a factor to be considered there are other facotrs. Surely in this time and age we dont need stupid leaders like him who cant use their sixth sense. Cant he just look at some of the chinese projects that have failed us Siavonga road , how many times has it failed us. Is he so damn stupid that he cannot see the benefits for zambians through this transactionbeing won by a zambian?
Hikaumba , we know u as an MMD mole so just concentrate on Labour matters which u have even failed to represent. even your recent election was full of rigging by barring other vibale contenders. LCC did well not give Chinese contractors fullstop. if u have no labour matters to talk about retire
UPND THRU KAPITA HAVE OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED THE DEATH OF THE PACTAND HAVE SINCE WRITTEN TO KING COBRA SATA. MWANYA BAMAKANDI MAY YOUR SOULS REST IN TROULBED WATERS
Some of these people who are asking to invistigate the tender ask yourselves one question. When are we going to trust ourselves to do the jobs that we are giving to foreigners? Today we are being punished by the people we thought they will bring developemnt to our country. Zamtel all the top managers have been sacked. Mines the same. This guy has employed Zambians and the money will remain in Zambia. If there is any indication that the this guy has failed to provide the best possible work then it is right for the those asking for invistigation.
mmd’s ‘winning’ once more. we are in trouble
Actually according to World bank Tender procedures The Zambian Company must be given the contract assuming the 15% advantage clause is implimented. ie Chikwelete Investments Limited bid for K5.2 less 15% is K4.4 billion. The15% Zambian ownweship advantage means he was better than the Chinese company at K4.7 billion. Have things changed since the 1990’s?
In fact we should try to implememnt the International Tender Guidelines in Zambia that allows local companies what in Golfing circles is called a Handicap. Such that Zambian companies be given automatic 15 % to even 25% advatage from the outset unless the foreign company is in a 50-50% JV with the local company in the contract. But to outrightly kick out Foreign companies in our Tendering process would also be retrogressive.
RB and his children have done more harm…..than the mayor? this is what zambian politics is all about.Kafupi, has done more harm, Katele is still in power, VJ,? give me a break, let the works be completed. Hakaumba you have failed to negotiate for peers? civil servants, nurses are still under paid. let the mayor have his piece of pie…….copper? remember we are zambians and entitled to copper? way to go mayor! he who is not guilty of any sin, let him/her cast the first stone? dora bought ba manda manda…she is still minister?…chili hule
This I’diot has nothing to talk about, because he knows for a fact no sane worker will listen to him anyway. Just like Rupiah, Hikaumba is a waste of out time and resources
MMD Mwanya, Paralell Voter Tabulation is and will be key in this years Elections. We all know for a cat MMD has never won an Election outrightly since 2001. We will monitor the elections up to the last ballot paper. Viva PF……
Last time I wondered whether ZCTU still exists. Now I know it iz still there only it haz become irrelevant and diverted from the purpoze it waz intended. What a shame!
ZCTU ought to have protested vigorously when it was revealed that NAPSA was squandering workers’ pension money, but they remained totally mute! They would rather talk loudly about things that are extrenouos to their core function of protecting workers’ interests! It’s not Hikaumba’s call to mouth off on Lusaka City Concil matters. Useless Congress of Trade Unions!
Hikaumba you are a shame just like ka Makaka ka chiluba.u came in labor movement with vigor now bakudyesamo ba mmd wankala zee because u are damn rich with brown envelopes. you are quiet on all labor issues Koswe.
I concur with you No 29. Our pension are being abused from all corner but this inept labour leader is just quite. Is there no vote of no cnfindence in ZCTU. Can someone peruse there constitution to kick this man out. Pray that your masters you are pleasing win elections otherwise september is near.