Picking of motor vehicle inspection companies must be done prudently
What you need to know:
- And, in view of lingering suspicions about money laundering and terrorism financing schemes surrounding the used motor vehicle business, should we not be subjecting these companies to political and security risk checks before we contract them?
- Kenya is always cited as a conduit for international drug trafficking and now we are experiencing an unprecedented upsurge in terrorist activity.
- Should we not be sending a technical team to Europe and Japan to physically inspect the facilities that these companies have in those destinations and to determine whether they have the capacity to handle the anticipated the volumes?
The government should demand more transparency in the selection of the companies it plans to contract to offer pre-shipment inspection services for motor vehicles coming into the country.
Globally, trade in used cars is suspected to be a vehicle for laundering dirty money. By exporting used cars to Kenya, money-laundering networks are able to bring their ill-gotten wealth into the country, convert it into shillings, and get it into the banking system.
In the United States, several used car dealerships have been investigated for laundering money for terrorists networks in Lebanon.
Kenya is always cited as a conduit for international drug trafficking and now we are experiencing an unprecedented upsurge in terrorist activity.
Should we not be conducting a thorough background check on pre-shipment motor vehicle inspection companies before we engage them?
I was surprised to learn that the Kenya Bureau of Standards is about to conclude the process of engaging a new company without subjecting the candidates to thorough background checks.
Three companies — Quality Inspection Services Japan Ltd, Jevic Ltd, and East Africa Automobile Services — have been short-listed after passing the technical and financial evaluation.
Should we not be sending a technical team to Europe and Japan to physically inspect the facilities that these companies have in those destinations and to determine whether they have the capacity to handle the anticipated the volumes?
LINGERING SUSPICIONS
And, in view of lingering suspicions about money laundering and terrorism financing schemes surrounding the used motor vehicle business, should we not be subjecting these companies to political and security risk checks before we contract them?
Granted, some of the companies have been offering these services and are, therefore, well known to the Kenya Bureau of Standards, but why is it that the procurement of services for pre-shipment inspection of motor vehicles never conclude without allegations of corruption and improper dealings? From what I gather, we may be headed for another explosive tender war.
The questions we must ask before we engage these companies include the following: who are the true owners of these pre-shipment inspection companies we have been dealing with and what is their background?
Is there any truth in claims that some of them are extensions of Japan-based Pakistani-owned companies said to have links and associations with both the owners of container freight stations in Mombasa and the mushrooming car bazaars of Nairobi, most of which are owned by Pakistani nationals?
What must be done to prevent the incestuous relationships in the used motor vehicle business, where exporting companies have links throughout the chain: from pre-shipment inspection to ownership of freight stations and finally, the bazaars where the cars are sold?
Mark you, three Japan-based Pakistani-owned companies control more than 80 per cent of the used car business in East Africa.
Last week, Information and Communication Cabinet secretary Fred Matiang’i and his Foreign Affairs counterpart, Ms Amina Mohammed, were present when police raided a residential property that housed a group of Chinese citizens who were suspected to be operating an illegal telecommunication facility.
It was clear from the presence of the two Cabinet secretaries and the director of the Criminal Investigation Department, Mr Muhoro Ndegwa, that the government was treating it as a case bordering on international crime.
The Chinese are, sometimes wrongfully, suspected to be major perpetrators of cyber espionage. I do not suffer from xenophobia, but I think the growing number of Pakistanis involved in used motor vehicle imports deserves critical inquiry.
The Pakistani motor vehicle dealers are a close-knit group with friends in high places, especially at the Ministry of Immigration, who allow them to circumvent work permit regulations. The local association of used car dealers has been complaining about the domination of the industry by the Pakistanis in vain.
The on-going procurement of the motor vehicle pre-shipment inspection services must be subjected to thorough checks. There must be a wall between the companies offering inspection services and the traders.
