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Ernakulam: Adding fuel to the ongoing protests against the proposed semi-high-speed K-Rail project, a report has come out disclosing that the general consultant of the project Paris-based M/s Systra was sanctioned by World Bank in the year 2019 due to corrupt practices.
Unaffected by the public outrage, the state government is determined to go ahead with the project. But by engaging a sanctioned firm for the proposed project, the state government will have to sweat a lot in answering the opposition in the coming days.
On July 10, 2019, the World Bank announced a 24-month sanction of India-based SAI Consulting Engineering Ltd (SAI), a subsidiary of Systra Group, in connection with corrupt practices during the company’s participation in three projects in Africa: East Africa Trade and Transport Facilitation Project, Mozambique Roads and Bridges Management and Maintenance Project and the Ghana Transport Sector Project.
Later a settlement agreement was reached between the World Bank and both SAI and Systra, which acquired 65 percent of SAI in 2014.
The sanction is reduced in recognition that Systra voluntarily disclosed SAI’s corrupt practices to the World Bank Group’s Integrity Vice Presidency (INT).
SAI and Systra were sanctioned with conditional non-debarment, which means that it remains eligible to participate in World Bank-financed projects as long as it complies with certain corporate compliance obligations that are defined in a settlement agreement.
According to the report, the World Bank sanctioned Systra and Sai for offering cash payments and gifts to project officials to expedite invoice payments, in connection with various infrastructure and developmental projects in Mozambique, Ghana and East Africa.
The Mozambique Roads and Bridges Management and Maintenance Project, which was closed in 2007, was designed to improve coverage and condition of roads and bridges in Mozambique.
The Ghana Transport Sector Project, which was shut up in 2018, was designed to improve mobility of goods and passengers and improve road safety standards in Ghana.
When contacted V Ajith Kumar, Managing Director of K-Rail, told Mathrubhumi.com that there was no dispute between Systra and the World Bank when the tender was awarded. “It was after entering into an agreement between K-Rail and Systra, the conditional debarment happened. It was just a conditional debarment to keep Systra under the watchlist to avoid repeating corrupt practices; not blacklisting or barring,” said Ajith Kumar. He also said that the period of conditional debarment is over and Systra and Sai are not facing any sanction now or under blacklist.
In the meantime, Ravisankar KV, a journalist, posted on his social media page that Systra was also blacklisted by Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) in connection with a project and the report associated with it has been removed from the site recently. “Those who support the K-Rail project should know this and must be answerable too. Has corruption happened in K-Rail too; like what had happened in Africa and the KSTP project?,” he wrote on his social media page.
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