CORNERED! Chaos as construction firm Seyani declines to pay fixer
Seyani Brothers signing a contract
The Managing Director for Seyani Brothers & Company (U) Ltd has been pushed to the wall for alleged refusal to approve payment for one John Mark Okise who for a long time has been doing Public Relation services for the company.The issue intensified following the unfair arrest of Okise in Kampala last week. Okise was arrested in Kampala and detained in Entebbe under unclear circumstances. This has forced his family members to come out strongly and demand for the prevalence of justice. “How can a person be arrested for demanding his pay. This is very unfair and we demand the involved parties to allow the law to take its right course,” Okise’s family member charged.The arrest followed a letter (this newspaper has seen) which Okise wrote to the Managing Director. “You will recall that I have been offering your Business support services since 2017 and the latest being whistle blowing on Uganda Electricity Transmission Company bid process reference UETCL/WORKS/2019 – 2020/00011. We agreed that if I succeed in enabling Seyani brothers on the qualification list, you would pay me a percentage of the contract price. When I requested to know the price you bid for the purpose of invoicing based on the agreement we made you are not creating time for me. Further you said that you will avail me some facilitation when I whistle blow the whole process which issue I successfully did but instead you have decided to not pick my calls…” the letter reads in part. Disgruntled Okise who is demanding over Shs60m for his services has since outlined his claims as follows; “The efforts I put in when we had issues with allegations on the works on the URA Towers, still you paid me less than what we agreed. I demand Shs25m for the negotiation to drop the claims on damages at URA tower, prevailing over the MPs not to stop the contract for Parliamentary Parking – Shs19m as well as whistle blowing to cause inquiry on the UETCL bid – Shs17m.”Okise is equally demanding money for the stakeholders who worked tooth and nail to protect the company image when rain entered and damaged the URA computers.As part of public relations services, he claims that he played a very big role in weakening ROKO Construction but was not paid to that effect. Daily Pepper contacted Seyani for a comment.Besides, lately Seyan Brothers Co (U) Ltd has been having issues with the Civil Aviation Authority after they were asked to pay back Shs2.1bn excess payment that was made to the construction company for the re-modification of Entebbe Airport. The airport expansion project which started in 2015 covers the extension of the passenger terminal, construction of a new cargo centre, and refurbishment of the airport’s two runways. As part of the project, Seyani Brothers (U) Ltd was contracted for the landside expansion which sought to provide a new arrivals and departure block. The project was funded by CAA to the tune of Shs42.6bn and supervised by Ssentoogo & Partners Limited at a cost of Shs1.1bn. But members of the Parliamentary Committee on Commissions Statutory Authorities and State Enterprise have established that the contractor has already been overpaid by Shs2.1bn. The matter came up as the committee started investigating findings of the review of the technical audit into the expansion of Entebbe International Airport. According to the review, sample items of executed works that were compared with certified quantities in interim payment certificates showed an anomaly in payments made to Seyani brothers.
About Seyani Brothers
Seyani Brothers and Company Uganda Limited is a winner of the 2015 Uganda Sustainable Development Award and accredited Uganda’s Top 50 Sustainable Development Agencies in recognition and appreciation of its enormous contribution towards social-economic development of Uganda. Parbat B. Sayani is the founder and has been the Managing Director of Seyani Brothers since its incorporation back in 1991. Parbat, Kenyan born British, began a career in construction over 30 years ago, when he co-founded Seyani Brothers & Company Limited in Kenya in 1978 and served as a senior shareholder and director until 2000. During this time, he was involved in a number of key projects and initiatives most notably Starehe Boys Kabete Campus, Unga Office Block, Stima Club, Jomo Kenyatta Library, Taveta/Danida Project, Kolobot Apartments, Bishop Garden Offices amongst others. In 1991, Parbat moved to Uganda to establish Seyani Brothers and has been involved in a number of projects including Paraa Safari Lodges, Kibuli Police Training School, Lincoln International School, Uganda Virus Research Institute, Kakira Sugar Works and many more. He masterminded the company’s expansion program by successfully launching Parbat Siyani Construction Ltd in Kenya in 2001 as well as Seyani Brothers & Co. s.a.r.l in Rwanda in 2004. Both these associated companies already executed a number of high value projects and are today recognized as leading construction companies in their respective jurisdictions. In 2007, Parbat, along with the other directors, was responsible for the launch of Seyani Brothers & Co. (T) Ltd in Tanzania.
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