Purchase of SGR coaches lacked national interests, says CAG

Dar es Salaam. The Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Mr Charles Kichere, has on Wednesday revealed that the contracts that were entered in construction of the Standard Railway Gauge (SGR) did not have national interest.

Mr Kichere, who submitted the 2021–2022 audit report to President Samia Suluhu Hassan, said that the Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) twice rejected the tender to purchase the locomotives and passenger coaches from the lowest bidder at an offer of $263.4 million and instead made a non-competitive purchase of $478 million.

According to the CAG, the decision to enter into a non-competitive purchase as a result cost the tax payer an additional $215 million.

Also, in the contract to purchase the locomotive and passenger coach, TRC implemented the process without a performance guarantee, a situation that led to a loss of Euro 5.3 million (Sh13.7 billion).

He further noted that the construction of a certain section of SGR that was supposed to be completed on November 1, 2019, was delayed seven times, equivalent to three years and 10 months.

"Due to this delay, the consultant’s period was extended, and that resulted in an increase in the fee of Sh26.2 billion," he said.

On the other hand, regarding the construction of the JNPP, Tanesco increased the time for project completion; therefore, the project will be completed in October 2024 instead of the target time.

"I advise Tanesco to take action to ensure that the contractor compensates for the additional time," he said.