Engilex denies links with GBM

Engilex denies links with GBM
By Mwala Kalaluka
Tue 23 Oct. 2012, 16:00 CAT

ONE of the companies that bid for a one-year tender for the supply of wooden-poles to Zesco, which defence minister Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba is alleged to have physically solicited for, says it has no links with him.

Engilex Limited was one of the companies included on the preliminary notification of contract award for the Zesco tender to supply and deliver 9m, 10m and 12m wooden poles on one-year running contract basis.

"This preliminary award has been issued pursuant to Part VI, Section 53 (1) and (2) of the Zambia Public Procurement Act No.12 of 2008. Furthermore, this notice does not constitute an award of contract and you have the right to appeal against the intention before the notice period expires on Wednesday 19th September 2012," Zesco acting senior manager procurement Tamara Ngulube notified the firms.

According to a certificate of incorporation obtained by The Post yesterday, Engilex Limited, whose bid price on the Zesco wooden poles tender was K14,345,256,250, is a private company whose shares are held by Bobi Nebwe, director/secretary and John Kombe director and not Mwamba.

One of the other six companies that Zesco preliminarily awarded the contract is Arizona Marketing & Distributors, which belongs to Mwamba, who is popularly known as GBM and who has since been subjected to a preliminary inquiry over the same tender by the Anti-Corruption Commission ACC.

Sources told The Post recently that Mwamba physically pressed Zesco management to award the wooden poles tender to his company, Arizona Marketing & Distributors and two other companies he was allegedly connected to.