A company has lodged a complaint before the court against the government over unpaid services that run for ten years now.
The company, BEA International, claims that the Ministry of Environment and Natural resources failed to pay it Sh600 million for services rendered a decade ago in a greenhouse gas emissions reduction project.
Through lawyer Waweru Gatonye, the company says it entered an agreement in April 2011 for consultancy services. According to their 2011 agreement, the BEA Company was to prepare and submit to the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) Project Idea Notes (PINS) and Project Design Documents (PDDs) for the Mau Forest Complex, Aberdare Ecosystem and greening the cities and riparian reserves and national appropriate mitigation actions.
According to one of its directors, there was a demonstration that was to prove the reduction of greenhouse gases – according to the standards as produced by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
BEA Company says that it met its side of the bargain – after all the tests – but wondered why the Ministry of Environment has been taking them in circles when it comes to remitting the payment.
Even after the matter was referred to an arbiter in 2018, the arbiter ruled in the favor of the company – a decision that was challenged in court by the ministry. Again, the appeal was dismissed. The company is saying that there is an increase of 12% per annum on the money even though it has not been paid.
“Despite demands, the respondents have failed to pay the declared sum, nor honored its promise to settle the same. It is now four years down the line, and the amount continues to accrue interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum until payment in full at the expense of innocent taxpayers,” the petition reads.
The Attorney General, while representing the Ministry, said that the contract was terminated because the company failed to submit progress reports as agreed in the contract, a claim that has been disputed by the company.
RELATED STORY: Ruto Jealous After Raila Copies His Handout Economic Model (VIDEO)
