Reality about the Construction of Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Mogadishu
Introduction
We are LIGHT LINE INVESTMENT LTD, a local
registered company based in Mogadishu, Somalia. We carry out different
business activities mainly construction work. In mid-2015, we got a
construction contract from UAE Embassy. The Embassy called and told us
they are planning to build a big hospital named, Sheikh Zayed Hospital
in Mogadishu donated by UAE Government for the people of Somalia and the
Contract was awarded to a company based in UAE called AISHI AE LTD. The
company wanted a local Somali company they can subcontract with and they
(the embassy of UAE in Somalia) recommended LIGHT LINE INVESTMENT LTD
because of construction work the company previously did at the Embassy.
From where things went wrong
On August 1st 2015, we sat with AISHI AE ltd Management and on August
3rd 2015 we signed a contract with them about structural civil work for
the Hospital and we agreed upon that payment to being stages according to
the volume of work to be completed. We started work as per agreement and
we finished the first stage.The main contractor assessed the completed
work of the first stage as per the agreement on 17 February 2016.
Unfortunately, 18 February 2016, the Embassy informed us that they
had cancelled the contract of AISHI AE LTD and took back their management
team to UAE. For this, LIGHT LINE INVESTMENT LTD Company should also
withdraw its workers from the Hospital site.
We went to the Project Management office of the Embassy and told them
that we wanted to be paid for the work done and also to collect all our
construction materials and equipment that we were using for
the construction of the hospital.The project director, Eng. Ali Al
mazrouri told us that everything on the construction hospital site belonged
to UAE government including our own materials and equipment. The
project Director claimed that they were holding our materials
because they gave AISHI AE LTD some advanced payment for the construction
of the hospital. He further informed us that if we had any issues,
we pass our claims and the necessary documents through the ministry of
foreign affairs of Somalia, then the UAE Embassy would forward them to
the ministry of foreign affairs of United Arab Emirates which was
responsible for the coming of AISHI AE ltd to Somalia.
We did all legal requirements starting from Benadir Regional court,
ministries of Justice and foreign affairs of federal Government of
Somalia. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Somali sent those documents to
the UAE embassy twice however, the UAE Embassy of Somalia never
responded to our demands to settle our grievances. The Embassy totally
ignored our genuine complaints and disrespected other relevant
institutions of federal government of Somalia.
Public Declaration
Unfortunately, we find ourselves forced to make our case public, so
that every Somali citizen, Members of Somali parliament, chamber of
commerce and industry of Somalia, local and international media, human rights groups and United Nations
Monitoring Group should be made aware of the money that is building
Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Mogadishu is not money donated by UAE
government but rather money coned from local Somali companies including
LIGHT LINE INVESTMENT LTD through the UAE embassy of Somalia by
bringing fake companies from outside Somalia who are not genuine, their
main agenda being extortion of resources from local Somali companies
like LIGHT LINE INVESTEMENT LTD.
We, the victim of UAE embassy based in
Mogadishu, are ready to share all the evidence with support documents to
the public through local and international media.
Finally, we urgently appeal to UAE government, particularly the UAE
Embassy in Mogadishu, to respect the laws of the land concerning our
commercial dispute and find a just solution.
Likewise, we call our Somali Government to fully enforce its Court
rulings and be more assertive in defending the rights of its citizens.
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