South Sudan Should Learn Some Lessons From the Uganda Optic Fiber scandal
There lessons to be learnt from the Uganda Optic fiber scandal
Steven Ladu Lomole, Juba, South Sudan
January 25, 2015 (SSB) — On December 5th 2014 Uganda’s President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni ordered his Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda to sort out the mess in the optic fiber project implemented by Huawei technologies that seeks to link government agencies and also East African countries South Sudan inclusive in order to overcome high internet costs.
In the letter Museveni says that he had received complaints from his Auditor General questioning the use of inferior cables and the gross inflation of the cost of the project by over 41.9 million US dollars.
Museveni writes,
“ Some time ago a Chinese company Known as Huawei started building an ICT backbone for Uganda which that time was still using the satellite link for telephones and other forms of data transmission . Using satellite for telephones is two times more expensive than using the ICT backbone and the undersea cable. Later on I got complaints about poor cables being used, over pricing etc. In my letter of 16th April 2012 I requested the Auditor General to audit this project and establish the facts. Apparently the Auditor general wrote back to me on the 20th of June 2013 but I only saw the letter on 5th December 2014 pointing out that the project was over priced by US 41 Million etc. and recommending certain rectification. I have now received complaints that EXIM bank of China is approving another US$ 9 million for this company even before the other rectification are done.”
What do we make of this? Why did the President take almost two years before getting the Auditor General’s report? Who was hiding it and why? What was the motive? These are not questions for us as South Sudanese to answer but help us to put our own house in order. When you read the Auditor General’s report you will find out that Huawei was supposed to use different cables other than those they used.
Huawei used an inferior type of cable; G- 652B instead of G-655 that Uganda would need to transmit data. The report says that G- 652B is vulnerable to attenuation and dispersion when used for distances exceeding 80km. The money that Uganda used to fund the project is a 106 million dollars loan from China.
How is this information relevant to South Sudan?
This information is very relevant to our country because the same company that has been implicated in inflating prices and also using inferior equipment in Uganda is also implementing similar projects in our country. Indeed like it has been implicated in impropriety in Uganda; it is also not new to the same misgiving in our country.
You remember that hacking scandal complained about by the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Michael Makuei Lueth which even up to today we have never got conclusive explanations of what happened. Huawei is one of the Chinese companies implementing priority projects with funding from EXIM Bank of China.
They are working on the 1607km optic fiber project being implemented by the office of the president. How the office of the President gets involved in the work that is supposed to be done by the ministry of Telecommunication and Postal services, is a story for another day. But this project worth 200million dollars must be scrutinized lest we are shortchanged like what happened in Uganda.
We must not wait for the project to get finished before we audit it to establish the facts. For 1607 KM, worth US$200millions means that the unity cost per kilometer is 124,455.5USD. Isn’t this price inflated when compared to the region, where the same is being implemented?
For example for the 2118km optic fiber cable implemented by the same company in Uganda amidst the inflation of the cost as indicated by the Auditor General, Uganda is spending per kilometer US$50047.2 (But when compared to other countries, the same costs between 10000USD-20000USD) but South Sudan for the same is spending US$124,455.5 why the huge disparity of US$74408.3?
We need to know these details before hand so that the poor citizens of this country who are struggling to just get by are not defrauded. I learn that the government is in the process of auditing some projects because they suspect that there were some discrepancies during procurement of the contractors. This is the right thing to do but all the projects must be reviewed.
Otherwise Uganda gives us very important lesson that we ought to learn from in order to avoid becoming victims of scams which by the way some of them have the hand of our thieving individuals who have no heart for the poor people for as long as their pockets are lined and their children attending the best schools around the world
The writer is a concerned South Sudanese living in Juba; he can be reached at stevenladu@gmail.com
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