The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has reached a negotiated settlement with China Henan International Cooperation Group over failure to disclose it used a commission agent for a road project in Uganda.
- •The negotiated settlement means that the firm is banned from any AfDB-funded projects across the continent for one year.
- •According to the AfDB, China Henan “engaged in a fraudulent practice when it failed to disclose the use of a commission agent while submitting a bid.”
- •The company now joins a list of more than 950 entities that have been sanctioned by the bank.
China Henan found itself on the wrong side of the AfDB’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption after it submitted a bid for civil works to upgrade the Rukungiri-Kihihi-Ishasha/Kanungu road in Uganda to bituminous standard. The project is part of the bank’s Road Sector Support Project in the country.
Construction of the 78.5km road, which connects to Uganda’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, was already marred with some controversy over China Henan’s delays in fixing district and community roads damaged by their heavy trucks.
- •China Henan has other ongoing projects road construction projects in Kenya and Tanzania.
- •In Kenya, the company was in the news in late 2023 after it abandoned an 86km road project in Kisii due to delayed payments.
- •In Tanzania, the company is implementing a critical section of a 413km road project that will enhance the road network between Tanzania and Zambia.
The AfDB sanctions companies “found to have participated in coercive, collusive, corrupt, fraudulent or obstructive practices.” The multilateral lender will also require that the company implement an integrity compliance program once the ban expires in March 2025.
