The World Bank has banned two Nigerian companies and their boss from working on its projects for two and a half years. The companies are Viva Atlantic Limited and Technology House Limited, and their leader is Mr. Norman Didam as reported by Punch.
They got in trouble for cheating and lying in a Nigerian project that was meant to help poor people get money. This happened during a 2018 contract process.
The companies and their boss did several wrong things. They lied about conflicts of interest in their paperwork and got secret information about the project from government workers. They made up fake documents about their company’s experience. They used fake letters that were supposed to be from manufacturers. They also gave bribes to government officials working on the project.
These actions hurt a program that was supposed to help Nigeria’s poorest people.
To fix things, they made a deal with the World Bank. Mr. Didam must take special training about business ethics. The companies must improve their rules about honest business. All workers must take training about doing business the right way.
The World Bank made their punishment a bit lighter for several reasons. They helped with the investigation and took some steps to fix their mistakes. They stopped bidding for contracts on their own, and some time has passed since they did wrong.
This ban also means other big development banks won’t work with them either.
The World Bank said these companies and their boss can only work on World Bank projects again after certain conditions are met. Their 30-month ban must be over. They must complete all the required training and prove they’ve changed their business practices.
The World Bank stressed that they take cheating very seriously and want to make sure aid money is used properly to help people who need it. The main goal is to protect money meant for helping poor and vulnerable people in Nigeria.
SOURCE: RIntegrity