CHOGM: Legislators grill ex-Saachi boss

Feb 22, 2010

THE public accounts committee yesterday grilled former managing director of Saatchi and Saatchi, Moses Zikusooka and company chairman Patrick Quarcoo over a sh2.4b contract for media and publicity at the Commonwealth Summit (CHOGM) which was held in Kampala in 2007.

By Vision Reporter

THE public accounts committee yesterday grilled former managing director of Saatchi and Saatchi, Moses Zikusooka and company chairman Patrick Quarcoo over a sh2.4b contract for media and publicity at the Commonwealth Summit (CHOGM) which was held in Kampala in 2007.

The MPs questioned the two and told them to admit the mistakes.

Early this month, the committee had refused to take evidence from Quarcoo and the Terp Consult director, Odrek Rwabwogo, demanding that two key witnesses, Zikusooka and Vincent Okema, employees at Terp Consult, appear. The two appeared before the committee on Monday.

Zikusooka, who was the contract manager, admitted that it was an oversight on his part to sign the curriculum vitaes of the directors of the two companies, Rwabwogo and Quarcoo, which were submitted as part of the bid documents.

His admission prompted the MPs to conclude that since the CVs are a major part of the bid, it meant that the bids were defective.

Zikusooka defended the increase of the contract sum from sh1.8b to sh2.4b, arguing that a component on the print media and taxes had been left out.

The committee learnt that the addendum to the bid was not advertised in the papers and that it was not issued by the accounting officer in the office of the Prime Minister. The addendum that made changes to the tender was not signed.
The MPs also learnt that Saatchi & Saatchi did not submit the sh5m bid security as was required.

The committee agreed to meet the team again early next month to know where the billboards put up by the company were. They also demanded for proof of Vat payment.

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