Prime
Firm that supplied Shs2.4b cars confirms low-key past
One of the two luxury Mercedes Benzes Parliament bought for its two top officials parked at Parliament on June 7. PHOTO | DAVID LUBOWA
The UK firm that supplied new cars to Parliament for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker had never supplied cars anywhere before, and is not a car dealer, officials at the company have confirmed to this publication.
Ms Albeity was registered in Tilbury, London, in July 2018 as a company to take part in “other letting and operating of own or leased real estate.”
“Automobiles are not our core business, but when we consulted people at Parliament and other offices about the possibility of entering the procurement process, we were cleared to submit our bid documents,” Omar al-Habib, the company sales manager, told Sunday Monitor. He described it as “an opportunity any businessperson would have taken.”
Parliament has defended the purchase of two luxury Mercedes Benzes for its two top officials at a cost of £520,000 (about Shs2.4b). Parliamentary officials say the purchase of the cars had already been cleared in the last financial year to replace older ones that were about a decade old.
The rules allow Parliament to provide cars to the two officials and the vehicles are attached to the respective offices.
Procurement process
Mr Chris Obore, Parliament’s spokesperson, told Sunday Monitor that the House—through the office of the Clerk to Parliament—obtained clearance from the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) not to use a competitive process of procurement.
“Permission to directly procure was sought from the PPDA and it was obtained,” he said.
Mr Adolf Mwesige, the Clerk to Parliament, in an April 4 letter to the executive director of the PPDA, explained that the procurement of the ceremonial cars through competitive open bidding had come to a dead end.
“The Parliamentary Commission has twice attempted to purchase these ceremonial vehicles, but was unsuccessful on both occasions,” Mr Mwesige wrote. He explained that an advertisement inviting bids was first placed last October, but that only one firm—Spear Motors Limited—submitted a bid. The bid, Mr Mwesige added, was rejected on account of cost.
“Spear Motors was not successful on that occasion because it quoted a price (Shs2,924,000,000) for the vehicles. That exceeded the pre-established market survey estimate (Shs2,889,795.840) for the procurement…,” he wrote.
Mr Mwesige added that a second bid invitation process was initiated, but Spear Motors still fell short because it indicated that it would not be able to deliver the vehicles before the State-of-the-Nation-Address and Budget Day.
Mr Obore said Parliament invoked Section 7.4(iv) of the PPDA guidelines on procurement in emergency situations. The section stipulates: “Where there is a necessity to act immediately, the necessary goods should be obtained directly from the most convenient providers, who are able to deliver within a short lead time.”
The cars were apparently bought from Mercedes Benz UK and it is not clear why Parliament did not buy them directly from the maker. Attention has shifted to the firm that was contracted to supply the vehicles through the “emergency” process.
Modest track record
A review of UK Companies House records shows that the company was a micro-enterprise with a balance sheet of £281 (Shs1.3m) in 2020. The firm only had one employee at the time.
As of July 31, 2021, the capital reserves of the company had risen to £5,456 (about Shs25m). Capital and reserves captures the equity interest of the owners in an entity by establishing the difference between total assets and total liabilities in the balance sheet.
The balance sheet has raised questions about whether Parliament carried out any due diligence on the company before it was contracted to supply the vehicles.
The company official admitted that they supplied the vehicles to Uganda as a side hustle.
Car dealers in the United Kingdom need full specialist motor trade and public liability insurance. We were unable to find proof that the company holds such insurance.
Mr Al-habib said arrangements have been made to have the vehicles taken to Nairobi, Kenya, for repair during the warranty period.
Sunday Monitor could not, however, establish whether DT Dobie, the Mercedes Benz agents in Kenya, have such an understanding with Albeity.
Spear Motors, which was thrown out of the earlier procurement, is the Mercedes Benz authorised dealer and service centre in Uganda.
Whereas Albeity offered to deliver the vehicles in a month and at a cheaper price than what Spear Motors quoted, controversy continues to swirl over the whole process.
A procurement committee that is reported to have tried to challenge the award of the contract to supply the vehicles to Albeity was disbanded and another one set up to see the deal through.
The listed directors of Albeity Limited are two British citizens: Samir Tahir al-Kharusy, 50, a postal worker and Ibrahim Nsibomana, 49, a truck driver. Youssuf Aden, a 41-year-old Somali nurse, resigned as a director on September 18, 2018, five days after another director, Abubakar Hassan.
Bid security
Investigations by this newspaper also reveal that the company did not provide a bid security, one of the standard requirements in public procurements in case a service provider fails to execute the contract.
Mr Omar al-Habib, the company sales manager, confirmed the size of their balance sheet but defended the company, saying it had supplied the vehicles under what he described as very flexible terms.
“Albeity is to be paid 30 days after delivery of the two vehicles. The second vehicle arrived in Uganda on Friday (June 10). Those are very flexible terms,” Mr Al-habib said.
In response to questions about the lack of a bid security, the official revealed that the firm had agreed to supply the vehicles even before a contract was signed.
“Questions about our experience have been answered,” he said in an email to this newspaper. “We delivered the vehicles in time and at a good price. We have also offered a three-year warranty.”
