The judge stressed that the amount of the “Majaz Labaqar” dam project was inflated by a terrible value:
Dam managers: Experience confirmed that the project achieved its economic goals
Serious violations and imbalances… failure to respect the principle of equal treatment of candidates and transparency of procedures, delay in completing projects and resorting to concluding additional add-ons that exceed the financial value of the original deal for the project by 5 times, causing the loss of more than 600 billion centimes…! This is what was revealed by the corruption trial of the National Agency for Dams and Transfers, after it became permissible to waste public money during the era of the defunct gang, by granting deals in a suspicious manner to a private company for the project to strengthen the “Majaz al-Baqar” dam intended for agricultural irrigation in the municipality of Ain Makhlouf in the state of Guelma…
The judge of the second branch of the Economic and Financial Criminal Court confronted the defendants from the category of the former Minister of Water Resources, Arezki Baraki, along with the two general directors of the National Dams Agency, “M. Massoud” and “W. Sharif,” and officials from the agency, with the facts of the file and the circumstances of concluding the “Majaz al-Baqar” dam deal, and the huge amount of the project, which doubled after resorting to concluding annexes that exceed the financial value of the original deal, related to 3 annexes, after changing the deal from strengthening the dam to increasing the height and other things. Transgressions and violations.
The defendants appeared before the Second Branch Authority, Tuesday, October 20, on charges of exploiting the actual and supposed influence of a public administration or authority to obtain undeserved benefits, a misdemeanor of intentionally abusing one’s position in order to perform work within the framework of exercising one’s functions in a manner that violates laws and regulations for the purpose of granting undeserved benefits to others, a misdemeanor of wasting public funds, a misdemeanor of granting unjustified privileges to others on the occasion of concluding a contract or deal with the state or one of its institutions in a manner that violates the legislative and regulatory provisions, the acts stipulated in It is punishable by Articles 26, 29, 32, 33, and Article 48 of the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Law.
While the owner of the company benefiting from the project to strengthen the “Majaz al-Baqar” dam in the state of Guelma, the defendant “R.H.”, was charged with inciting public officials to exploit their actual and supposed influence, with the aim of obtaining an undeserved advantage, the misdemeanor of benefiting from undeserved and unjustified privileges on the occasion of concluding a contract or deal with the state or one of its affiliated institutions, in addition to participating in the squandering of public funds, and the misdemeanor of money laundering.
Baraki: I am in prison, how do I sign the projects?
During his interrogation before the Pole Court, former Minister Baraki was surprised by his follow-up on the facts of signing and supervising the preparation of the dam project while he was in prison, asking, “How can I be responsible for granting the deal and marking the appendices and the conditions book while I am in the penal institution?”
Judge: You are being charged with misdemeanors of intentionally abusing your position in order to perform work within the framework of exercising your functions in a manner that violates laws and regulations for the purpose of granting undeserved benefits to others, a misdemeanor of wasting public funds, and a misdemeanor of granting unjustified privileges to others on the occasion of concluding a contract or deal with the state or one of its institutions in a manner that violates legislative and regulatory provisions. What do you say?
Baraki: I deny the charges against me.
Judge: What position did you hold at the time of the facts?
Baraki: I was Director General of the National Dams Agency from June 2015 until December 31, 2019, when I was appointed on January 2, 2020 as Minister of Irrigation in the first government of the current president.
Judge: The current deal was concluded during the period in which you were Director General of the Agency?
The accused: Regarding the study deal, I was not general director because it was concluded in March 2015, during the era of former general director Abbas Saeed. As for the works deal with the “Arzazqi ETPH” company, yes, I was in the position.
Judge: Did we give clarifications about the circumstances of concluding this deal?
Baraki: The announcement of the tender to study the project to rehabilitate the “Majz al-Baqar” dam in Guelma was issued on April 6, 2015 by the former Director General of the Agency. During that period, I held the position of central director in charge of maintaining the dams and their technical oversight. The tender was awarded to the French Studies Office ISL, which prepared the book of conditions and then announced the tender. After submitting the offers by the economic operators, the committee for opening the envelopes and evaluating the offers selected the “Arzazqi” company as it had presented The lowest offer was 776 million dirhams, and the offer submitted by it was identical to the works evaluation provided by the studies office.
Judge: What do you say about the annexes that changed the subject of the deal and increased its value by 6 times?
Baraki: I heard about these annexes for the first time when I applied to the judicial police in late 2024. During the period when I was director general of the agency, the subject of the deal was the preparation of the “Majaz Al-Baqar” dam, and there was no need to conclude the annexes. Also, the launch of the tender procedures for the work to complete the project related to the restoration of the dam by rebuilding the flood outlet. I had nothing to do with re-raising the dam, which was not included in the “Arzazqi” deal, nor the study of the ISL office, and I was not consulted by the agency. Dams regarding the completion of the ramping and changing the subject of the deal related to the “Arzazqi” company, which was assigned three annexes, of which the first annex was marked, which was concluded in August 2020. I had left the agency 8 months ago and assumed the position of Minister of Water Resources, and no one informed me that an annex had been concluded regarding this project. As for the second annex, which was concluded in February 2022, I was present in the penal institution, as stated in the certificate of presence, for more than 8 months, considering that it was I was placed in prison on June 17, 2021, while the third annex was concluded in December 2023. I was still in the same penal institution, and I had no relationship with these annexes, neither closely nor remotely, and they did not bear my legal responsibility.
Judge: What do you think about these appendices then?
Baraki: Even if I am not responsible for these annexes, as an engineer and I spent more than 30 years in the National Dams Agency, there is no project or deal in which annexes were not concluded, given that studies on dams are not one hundred percent accurate and this applies to all countries.
Masoud M.: We adopted the Public Procurement Law
For his part, the accused, M. Masoud, during his response to the judge’s questions regarding his follow-up with the file of the project to strengthen the “Majz al-Baqar” dam in the state of Guelma, revealed the circumstances of his signing of the contractual annexes for the project, the limits of his responsibilities in the various stages of their conclusion and implementation, as well as the administrative and supervisory procedures that preceded their approval. His statement stated the following:
Judge: What are your statements regarding the charges against you?
The accused: Your Honor, I deny everything that has been attributed to me.
Judge: How long have you been working at the National Dams Agency? What positions did you hold before your appointment as Director General of the National Dams and Transfers Agency?
The accused: I worked at the National Dams Agency since 1991, until I assumed the position of Director General of the National Dams and Transfers Agency on June 30, 2020, after the issuance of the minutes of appointment as Acting Director General pursuant to a ministerial decision, and on August 15, 2020, a presidential decree was issued and I became Director General.
Judge: Who did you succeed in the position?
The accused: She succeeded Ben Ali Sharif Al-Wardi.
Judge: Regarding the annexes of the deal, the “Cow Passage Dam,” what do you say?
The accused: Regarding the annexes of the Majaz Labqar Dam deal, I was not a party to the first appendix during my previous period of work. Rather, I found it in the implementation phase, and it was indicated by the Sectoral Deals Committee on June 24, 2020, as well as the Financial Controller. Before assuming the position of General Manager, I held the position of Director of Achievement in the Central District, and I did not know the details of the Majaz Labqar Dam deal.
The accused continues, saying: As for the prices, they were negotiated under the supervision of the Directorate of Achievements in the East Region, which was supervised by “Bin Ali Al-Sharif Al-Wardi,” and with the participation of the project manager, “J. Kamal,” the CTH representative, Ali Kabir, and the head of the technical department, Saleh Abdel-Rahman, in addition to a representative of the contractor.
Judge: When did the Annex 1 file reach you? What is its financial value and who provided it?
The accused: On August 10, the file was received in my office for implementation and signature, as well as the signature of the “ODS” order, which I signed on August 16, 2020, which was submitted by the owner of the ETPH company, contractor “R. Hussein”, and is estimated at approximately 130 billion centimes, for the project to strengthen the Majaz Labqar Dam in the state of Guelma.
Judge: What are the procedures followed to sign the appendix and grant the service order to the concerned company?
The accused: The procedures for signing the annex consist of annotating all copies of the first annex by the Ministerial Transactions Committee, and also approving it by the Financial Controller and the Public Treasury, after which the service order is granted to the company concerned in order to begin the works in accordance with what is stated in the annex.
Judge: Did the Sectoral Transactions Committee discuss Appendix I before approving it? What actions did you take during his studies?
The accused: The annex was discussed on June 16, 2020, and the committee made reservations and requested a supplementary report. Then the file was discussed on June 21, 2020, and when it became clear that the reservations had been lifted, the visa was granted on June 24, 2020.
The reason for dividing the appendix into three appendices is the lack of sufficient financial coverage, given that the additional quantities related to raising the height of the dam appeared from the beginning.
Judge: Did you approve and sign the second and third annexes related to the project to strengthen the Majaz Labqar Dam?
The accused: Yes, I approved and signed the second and third appendices to re-promote the Baqar Baqama bypass project, after passing the re-evaluation of the first process according to the new study.
Judge: Were you legally able to withdraw the prices and quantities for the additional work after marking the first appendix?
The accused: At the stage the file reached after marking the first appendix, I cannot legally, in accordance with Article 196 of the Public Procurement Law, withdraw the prices and quantities for additional works and go back. In other words, the article obliges me to the visa that was previously made by the Transactions Committee on the annex, and I cannot legally withdraw it at that stage.
Judge: Was it possible for the Director of Achievements, East District, to request stopping the work related to the project to strengthen the Majaz Labqar Dam?
The Accused: Yes, the Director of Achievement in the East Region at the National Agency for Dams and Diversions could have asked to stop the work related to the project to strengthen the Majaz Labqar Dam in Qalma, due to the change in quantities and the project’s transformation from reinforcement to rehabilitation, and the increase in the financial value of the project.
Judge: On what basis did the sectoral committee indicate the principle of changing the prices, quantities and value of the deal?
The accused: The sectoral committee marked the principle of changing the prices, quantities, and value of the deal based on the minutes of March 15, 2020 and April 16, 2020, related to setting the additional prices for raising the level of the dam and supplementary works, which were part of the project and the appendix submitted during its study by the sectoral deals committee.
Judge: But in this deal and what followed, several violations and transgressions were recorded. How do you explain that?
The accused: No, Madam President, I adhered to the Public Procurement Law and followed all applicable procedures, and the evidence is that experience confirmed that the project, from an economic standpoint, achieved the desired goals.
“Sharif. And: “I did not sign the annexes… I was in the penal institution
For his part, the former director of the National Dams Agency, Sharif, denied the charges against him, and said that he did not sign the three annexes, considering that the first annex was present for Umrah rituals, while the second and third were present at the penal institution, and I was also absent on the date of evaluation of all offers.
In his response to the judge’s questions, he said regarding his position and the circumstances of the deal, “I assumed the position of director of the National Agency for Dams and Transfers from January 2020 to June 30, 2020, and during this period a deal was concluded to rehabilitate the Majaz Labaqar Dam. However, I did not participate in any of its stages because I was present in the Umrah rituals, except for opening envelopes, which was an immediate process of inventorying documents without inspecting or evaluating them.” It will be in the presence of company representatives regarding the preparation of the conditions booklet.”
Judge: What about the annexes to the deal?
The accused added: “Madam President, I confirm that I did not edit any part of the book of conditions according to what was confirmed by judicial experience, and during the period of my term of office, a draft of the first appendix was received by our departments at a value that I do not remember, and the acting head of the project is accompanied by engineers and the contractor is the one who makes a suggestion in the workshop when there are excess works, and I did not decide on the first appendix because I did not have a clear vision of where I distributed it for all the “legal, financial and technical” departments to view and express their opinion. I was removed from the position before I served it.”
Regarding the study completed by the French Studies Office “ISL”, the accused explained that it referred to the process of removing the mud accumulated at the bottom of the dam and that a new study “topographically and surveying the bottom of the dam” must be conducted. The process was not evaluated within the value of 200 billion centimes.
He continued, “I did not sign the three annexes. The first was I was present during the Umrah rituals, and it was signed by the person who came to the position after me. I was also absent on the date of evaluating the offers. As for the second and third, I was present in the penal institution.”
