The Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture, chaired by Navakholo MP, Hon. Emmanuel Wangwe, held a meeting on Wednesday, June 4, 2024 to scrutinize the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Hazina Trade Center project.

Representatives from China Jiangxi International Ltd. appeared before the Committee to address concerns about irregular payments and the reduction of the proposed office block towers from 36 floors to 15 floors.

Director, China Jiangxi International Ltd, Mr. Jimmy Ji, was invited to provide additional evidence concerning the issues highlighted by the Auditor General in the NSSF accounts for the Financial Years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.

Hon. Wangwe noted that building 15 floors ended up costing more than the initially planned 36 floors, despite the project involving the elevation of an existing building. He pointed out that a variation should not result in a 100 percent increase in the cost.

"What made the construction of 15 floors more expensive than the cost of the initial 21 floors? Even if there were variations, it cannot be 100 percent," Hon. Wangwe said.

Members further wanted to know the rationale behind the drastic reduction from 36 floors to 15 floors, especially since the work was in progress and the Bill of Quantities (BQs) was prepared for 36 floors.

Responding, Mr. Ji stated that contractors are not involved in decision making on variations.

 "We are contractors and we are not involved in deciding the variations. We are just on site for construction purposes, and when the decision of variation was reached, we were building the 15th floor," he said.