Barran Press
Ali Al-Ma'amari, a member of the House of Representatives and former governor of Taiz, revealed on Monday, August 5th, 2024, a "corruption case" worth over $16 million related to the Taiz University Medical and Health Sciences College project.
In a post on his "X" account, monitored by "Barran Press," Al-Ma'amari stated, "There is a clear case of corruption, and we have the documents. The state is about to lose over $16 million," calling it a "crime of corruption."
The parliamentarian accused government officials of "being involved in this crime," explaining that "Al-Rehab Company, which failed to complete the Taiz University Medical College project within the specified time before the war, instead of paying a penalty of $4 million, will receive $16 million in compensation."
In another post, Al-Ma'amari confirmed that "government officials, both former and current (without naming them)," were responsible for this situation. He stated that they "submitted the case to arbitration proceedings outside of Yemen." He added that "favoritism played a significant role in the case."
Al-Ma'amari considered the arbitration proceedings in the case a "major scandal." He said that they "relied on a Jordanian expert who doesn't know Yemen and hasn't visited the project site."
The parliamentarian attached several documents related to the project to his post, including an initial expert report on the arbitration lawsuit regarding the project's liquidation between the university and the company, the arbitration ruling in the case, and other documents related to the case and its circumstances.
The documents reveal that the original contract for the construction of the college, located on Mount Suleiman in Taiz, was signed in January 2011, with the project scheduled to be completed within 30 months from the start date of May 2012.
The documents show Taiz University's demands for the company to pay a delay penalty of 10% of the contract value to the university, a price difference for work not completed by the company at 20% of the value of that work, totaling $1,930,379.
Furthermore, the documents demand the company pay for work damaged due to the delay and non-completion of the project by the deadline, amounting to $1,813,988.
The university also demands the company reimburse the amount paid to it for removing and transporting dirt and debris from the site, which it failed to do, totaling $48,411.63, in addition to $145,235 for the price difference for transporting dirt and debris at the current rate.
The university also seeks compensation for the damages it incurred in setting up a temporary location for the Medical College, which it said cost the university over $690,644. Other demands include confiscating the final guarantee from the contract value, a malicious lawsuit penalty, arbitration costs, and legal fees.
In contrast, the total value of Al-Rehab Engineering, Contracting, and Agencies' demands for the project amounted to $22,659,107, including the value of additional work completed but not accounted for, price differences for work completed, delay in payment penalties, and amounts withheld from invoices for completed work.
"Barran Press" reviewed the ruling of the three-member arbitration panel, chaired by Amin Mahmoud, with Hani Al-Bu'ani and Abdelbari Al-Kharasan as members, in the session held to consider the case in the Egyptian capital Cairo on July 11th, 2024.
The ruling ordered Taiz University to pay the company $1,090,962 for price differences for work completed due to the Yemeni government's raising of fuel prices. It also ordered the university to pay $5,442,698 for project financing expenses, an amount for the value of damaged materials, and $2,850,787 for project financing expenses.
The ruling also ordered the "cancellation of the guarantee issued by Yemen and Kuwait Bank for $1,737,571 (2019/594), and the defendant (Taiz University) is obligated to return it, and to pay the company $94,395 for bank interest and commissions."
In addition, the ruling ordered the university to pay the company $5,920,793 for looted equipment and production supplies, $282,634 for force majeure compensation, $945,135 for arbitration fees, and $300,000 for expenses.
In contrast, the ruling ordered Al-Rehab Engineering, Contracting, and Agencies to pay the university $76,944.20.
Furthermore, another document published by Al-Ma'amari, a memorandum from the President of Taiz University to Governor Amin Mahmoud in October 2018, informed him that the Medical and Health Sciences College project was subjected to rocket and artillery shelling by "parties to the conflict." It added that the project was also subjected to an armed raid and takeover.
The memorandum stated that the project "is now outside the control of the implementing contractor/Al-Rehab Company and outside the control of the university as the owner of the project."
Taiz governorate has been witnessing continuous war since 2014. The Houthi group, internationally classified as a terrorist organization, has imposed a suffocating siege on the city since 2015, coinciding with artillery and rocket shelling targeting residential neighborhoods and service facilities, resulting in significant human casualties and material damage, documented by numerous press and human rights reports.