Why is Chinese contractor, UNIK Construction Engineering winning all government’s big construction tenders in Botswana? This is the burning question on most Batswana’s lips.
Sunday Standard investigations suggest that the real questions should be, “why is Unik Construction allowed to bid for government tenders in the first place and why do they have a tax clearance certificate when they have more than a dozen pending tax cases with Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS)?”
While efforts to secure a complete picture failed, a few puzzle pieces have come together.
Unik Construction Managing Director Mr Yun Sun confirmed to the Sunday Standard this week that the contractor has a BURS tax clearance certificate, and insisted that they have not issues with the taxman.
The Sunday Standard investigations however revealed that Unik Construction has a total of 13 tax return processing, tax penalty and tax debt pending cases with BURS dating as far back as 2015.
The cases are: case number RET 07150001685, return processing case created on 31/07/2015 and still active; RET 10150058938 return processing case created on 9/10/2015 and still active; RET 08160045044 return processing case created on 23/08/2016 and still active; RET 09160087740 return processing case created on 14/09/2016 and still active; RET 09180072792 created on 05/09/2018 and still open; RET 09180086082 created on 26/09/2018 and still active RET 07190015778 created on 25/07/2019 and still active; PEN 06200161987 a tax penalty case created on 19/06/2020 and still active; DBT 06206161979 tax debt case created on 27/06/2020 and still pending.
The Sunday Standard can further reveal that over and above the 13 pending cases with BURS, as at end of August 2021, UNIK owed the tax man more than P13 million in overdue tax including principal tax, interest payment and penalty fees. The questionable tax clearance certificate has enabled the Chinese contractor to bag government construction contracts running into billions of pula while skimping on paying tax.
Unik asked the Sunday Standard to send them a questionnaire. While they acknowledged receipt of the questionnaire, they had not responded at the time of going to press.
It is believed that UNIK Construction was able to secure a tax clearance certificate because it has powerful connections.
Information on allegations that government big construction tenders are being steered to contractors with powerful political connections has been opposition politicians and some Batswana’s holy grail. The quest has come in many shapes and forms. It spans parliamentary debates, Facebook posts and media reports over the past four years, and one of the few constants is Unik Construction.
In November 20, 2018, during a government Facebook page debate over the then Gaborone North MP Haskins Nkaigwa’s parliamentary question on “the agreement for a public private partnership between government and Zimmal Reliance for some plots signed in 2001”, one facebooker, Thembi Olebeng veered off the subject and asked, “who owns this government’s darling company called UNIK Construction?”
During his response to President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s State of the nation address (SONA) Member of Parliament for Selibe Phikwe Dithapelo Koorapetse echoed the suspicion that Unik Construction is among Chinese contractors who receive preferential treatment. “Let us look at what happens and what appears in our view, to be dubious dealings of corruption or underhandedness on some tenders. Mmamashia-Kanye water tender was awarded to a Chinese company known as Zhengtai Group Botswana at P709 million and 36-months duration. Mr Speaker, the company has been on site for almost six years with an estimated over P1.1 billion cost. Zhengtai has been also awarded the following tenders: Moshupa Hospital; P420 million, Maun Water and Sanitation; P1.8 billion, when it had been P1.4 billion by China Jiangsu, which was elbowed out Okavango Diamond Factory; P220 million, Palapye Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC); P90 million. I am reliably informed that Zhengtai may be awarded Molepolole-Mononyane.
Another Chinese company, UNIK Construction Botswana has been awarded the following jobs: Tutume Water Supply; P230 million, Shakawe Hospital; P400 million, Serowe-Serule road; P420 million, Moshupa Sanitation; P830 million. The most favorite Chinese companies it will appear are these ones; China State, China Civil, Zhengtai and UNIK. What is going on here? Why are these companies winning so many tenders and doing so many jobs simultaneously? We are not against Chinese or foreign companies, but there are Batswana contractors and other foreign companies operating here. Where are they?” asked Keorapetse.
In an investigative expose’ linking the Chinese contractor to the controversial National Petroleum Fund saga, Botswana Gazette reported that, “Unik has enjoyed lucrative tenders, albeit controversially.” In a story that stopped short of stating that the Chinese company won tenders because of its connections, the Botswana gazette reported that, “Unik….. has benefitted from lucrative tenders that have been mostly direct appointments. The Chinese owned Botswana construction company with a history of having the upper hand over other bidders, has been awarded about four major contracts.”
It emerged from the story that Unik Construction was paid almost P70 million for an NPF construction tender it was awarded under unclear circumstances. UNIK Construction has been embroiled in a scandal in Lesotho where it is alleged to have used its political connections to secure government tenders. A Lesotho government official revealed to the Lesotho Public Accounts Committee that he was instructed by the country’s first lady Maisaaih Thabane to award a huge tender to UNIK construction as reward for assisting the Lesotho Prime Minister. The company is also caught up in a controversy in Namibia after it was awarded a contract to refurbish the ruling SWAPO party head office.
