Experts sent by the Rural Energy Agency (REA) to investigate attitudes of contractors who are suspected to have breached the contents of the rural electricity power supply deal two months ago have hit a snag.
REA Director General Dr Lutengano Mwakahesya confirmed to The Guardian on Sunday that REA customers were not in a position to say if any contractor had solicited bribes from them.
The company’s experts thus failed to identify contractors who may have breached terms of a contractual agreement which proscribes inducements in taking energy to rural areas.
What however transpired was that some rural dwellers had willingly accepted to subcontract the contractors on mutual agreement to wiring in their houses in readiness to obtain power.
Two months ago, REA dispatched ten experts to investigate allegations raised by the Parliamentary standing committee on energy and minerals that some firms contracted by REA during the first phase of rural electrification which ended on 31st December 2013 had solicited bribes from rural dwellers.
The charges were raised in the presence of the Energy and Minerals Minister Professor Sospeter Muhongo that ‘rural contractors were charging villagers Sh200.000 to Sh300,000 as cost of one electricity supplypole contrary to what the government has set.’
Dr Mwakahesya was earlier quoted as saying that the allegations had shocked and tarnished his agency’s reputation and the management team as a whole, promising to dispatch a team of experts to investigate the matter.
Accusations were being raised in the Lake zone regions of Mwanza, Simiyu, Geita and Shinyanga, he said, noting that the reports were not true. He appealed for continued public awareness efforts to the people to make them understand thoroughly what rural contractors are doing for the people in their areas of operation.
He further noted that what he came to discover is misunderstanding on the contractual agreement entered between contractors and rural dwellers in need of having their houses being installed with electricity. In view of this, REA had approached contractors to do the wiring systems for them as an extra job, he specified.
He queried the status in law to require someone to do some extra work in favour of someone else free of charge “just because he is an electrician doing the work for REA in rural areas,” wondering whether it was fair to do that.
However, Dr. Mwakahesya is of the view that if contractors had entered a contract with house owners in rural areas for wiring their houses, they had all rights to be paid by them and this should not be regarded as a bribe.
Thorough investigations by a team of experts had discovered that the money extorted from villagers were payments for contractual work the two sides had agreed as part time job for wiring houses.
Dr Mwakahesya earlier mentioned Namis Co. as having been cited among supposedly offending companies, but did not elaborate, saying factors on the ground were still not ripe enough.
Thomas Uiso, Namis managing director along with chief engineer Shaidu Luther rejected the bribe reports.
Meanwhile, the wrangle between REA and power supply contractors is coming up just when the government has announced a reduction of charges for electricity service line connection for rural dwellers starting from February 2014 to May 2015.
The minister, Prof. Muhongo announced the cost for service line for rural dwellers as pegged at an affordable rate of Sh27,000 instead of Sh. 177,000.
The new rate was aimed at promoting power utilization in rural areas as the government embarks on the second phase of the rural electrification project to be run between February 2014 and May 2015.
This reflects the government’s vision for development by 2015 that all Tanzanians including rural dwellers should have access to electricity power by up to 30 percent of the population.
“The reduction is only for people in rural areas who are served under the REA integrated program for which the government had set aside Sh. 881 billion for two years which ends May 2015,” the minister had affirmed.
REA Director General Dr Lutengano Mwakahesya confirmed to The Guardian on Sunday that REA customers were not in a position to say if any contractor had solicited bribes from them.
The company’s experts thus failed to identify contractors who may have breached terms of a contractual agreement which proscribes inducements in taking energy to rural areas.
What however transpired was that some rural dwellers had willingly accepted to subcontract the contractors on mutual agreement to wiring in their houses in readiness to obtain power.
Two months ago, REA dispatched ten experts to investigate allegations raised by the Parliamentary standing committee on energy and minerals that some firms contracted by REA during the first phase of rural electrification which ended on 31st December 2013 had solicited bribes from rural dwellers.
The charges were raised in the presence of the Energy and Minerals Minister Professor Sospeter Muhongo that ‘rural contractors were charging villagers Sh200.000 to Sh300,000 as cost of one electricity supplypole contrary to what the government has set.’
Dr Mwakahesya was earlier quoted as saying that the allegations had shocked and tarnished his agency’s reputation and the management team as a whole, promising to dispatch a team of experts to investigate the matter.
Accusations were being raised in the Lake zone regions of Mwanza, Simiyu, Geita and Shinyanga, he said, noting that the reports were not true. He appealed for continued public awareness efforts to the people to make them understand thoroughly what rural contractors are doing for the people in their areas of operation.
He further noted that what he came to discover is misunderstanding on the contractual agreement entered between contractors and rural dwellers in need of having their houses being installed with electricity. In view of this, REA had approached contractors to do the wiring systems for them as an extra job, he specified.
He queried the status in law to require someone to do some extra work in favour of someone else free of charge “just because he is an electrician doing the work for REA in rural areas,” wondering whether it was fair to do that.
However, Dr. Mwakahesya is of the view that if contractors had entered a contract with house owners in rural areas for wiring their houses, they had all rights to be paid by them and this should not be regarded as a bribe.
Thorough investigations by a team of experts had discovered that the money extorted from villagers were payments for contractual work the two sides had agreed as part time job for wiring houses.
Dr Mwakahesya earlier mentioned Namis Co. as having been cited among supposedly offending companies, but did not elaborate, saying factors on the ground were still not ripe enough.
Thomas Uiso, Namis managing director along with chief engineer Shaidu Luther rejected the bribe reports.
Meanwhile, the wrangle between REA and power supply contractors is coming up just when the government has announced a reduction of charges for electricity service line connection for rural dwellers starting from February 2014 to May 2015.
The minister, Prof. Muhongo announced the cost for service line for rural dwellers as pegged at an affordable rate of Sh27,000 instead of Sh. 177,000.
The new rate was aimed at promoting power utilization in rural areas as the government embarks on the second phase of the rural electrification project to be run between February 2014 and May 2015.
This reflects the government’s vision for development by 2015 that all Tanzanians including rural dwellers should have access to electricity power by up to 30 percent of the population.
“The reduction is only for people in rural areas who are served under the REA integrated program for which the government had set aside Sh. 881 billion for two years which ends May 2015,” the minister had affirmed.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
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