“An investigation conducted by the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that Sinotec Company Limited misrepresented its experience, the value and dates of its reference contracts and its relationship with other bidders while participating in three Bank-financed tenders under the Regional Rukumo Hydropower Project in Rwanda, the Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project and the Last Mile Connectivity project in Kenya,” AfDB said in a statement.

The bank’s recent decision also renders Sinotec ineligible to participate in any AfDB-financed projects around the world, including two East African projects, the Regional Rukumo Falls Hydropower project in Rwanda and the Uganda Rural Electricity Access project, during the entire 36-month suspension.

In July 2018, Sinotec signed the contract with Kenya Power for supplying and installing over 1,800 miles of low voltage power lines and corresponding supply cables in the second phase of the Kenyan electricity project in the port city of Kisumu region, western Kenya and the Mount Kenya region.

The Kenyan government says the Last Mile Connectivity project will improve access to electricity in slums and rural areas in Kenya and help the country achieve 100% universal access to electricity by 2022.

Kenya’s progress in accelerating electricity connectivity has largely been accredited to the Last Mile Project, with a recent World Bank report putting the country on top in the East African region with 75% of the population having access to electricity, compared to 32.8% in Tanzania, 29.4% in Rwanda, 26.7% in Uganda, and 7.5% in Burundi.