A mismatch in the carrying capacity of 54 solid waste collection trucks, supplied by Belayab Motors plc., blocks of the transfer of the vehicles to Addis Capital Goods Finance Business S.C.
The Addis Abeba Road Transport Bureau (AARTB) requested the supplier to present a confirmation letter from the manufacturer through the Embassy of China in Ethiopia. The Bureau requires the affirmation to settle the issue. The loading capacity of the trucks and their engine design are the sections that have to be confirmed by the manufacturer.
The trucks were procured through a loan secured from Addis Capital, facilitated by the Addis Abeba City Administration Council, with the aim of improving the solid waste management system in the capital, where a total of 8,574 cubic metres of solid waste is generated every day.
The trucks were bought for 54 cooperative unions formed as small and micro-enterprises to work on solid waste collection. The 54 Unions are among the 610 unions registered by the city administration to collect solid waste in Addis.
Addis Capital financed 80pc of the cost to be paid in four years, while the Unions cover 20pc of the payment from their saving accounts at Addis Capital. Established in 2014, it has so far provided 53 million Br for over 2,000 clients engaged in the manufacturing sector. It also provided machinery worth between 100,000 Br and one million Birr.
Belayab Motors secured the deal after defeating Ultimate motors during both the technical and financial evaluations held in September 2016. It supplied the trucks with a unit price of 292,000 Br under a tax-free privilege.
Specifications of the trucks were prepared by a committee comprising of experts from the City’s Road Transport Bureau, Technical & Vocational Educational Training Centres, City’s Sanitation, Beautification & Park Development Authority (SBPDA) and Addis Capital. The trucks were supposed to have a 4.6 cubic metre volume, according to the specification.
“During an inspection, the trucks were found to have a 5.25 cubic metre volume,” said Mesay Infene, managing director of Addis Capital.
The case is still under investigation and is proceeding, according to Solomon Kidane (PhD), head of the Transport Bureau.
“But the government should get a guarantee through the Chinese Embassy,” Solomon told Fortune.
One of the local vehicle assembly plants, Belayab, was established a decade ago by three friends with a capital of 10 million Br. It is a subsidiary of the Belayab Investment Group that comprises of Golden Tulip Addis Abeba, Belayab Cable Manufacturing Plc, Licon Construction Plc and Lewis Construction Materials Manufacturing.
Executives of Belayab Motors were unable to respond to Fortune’s enquiries over the issue despite our efforts to reach its representatives for the past two weeks.