Makaayamawe
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 21, 2009
- 341
- 9
The founder of the US-based Richmond Development Corporation (RDEVCO) LLC, Mohamed Gire, now appears to have re-invented the company at the centre of a large-scale corruption scandal in Tanzania by making several changes to its official profile.
The company, which lists its official address as 5825 Schumacher Lane in Houston, Texas, has recently refurbished its website which now makes no mention of its previous or ongoing business interests in Tanzania.
Richmond is described on the website rdevco.com - as a premiere firm specializing in infrastructure development and energy markets, and names Gire, a Tanzanian national of Asian Indian descent - and a former US ambassador, Lewis Lucke, as the companys two-man leadership team.
Mr Gire brings a unique blend of talent and over 20 years of business insight to growing companies. In 1985, he started the Richmond Printing Company, now one of the largest printing businesses in Texas, says the website, adding:
"This experience fostered his interest in advanced technologies. With his savvy talent for real estate and management, he ventured into other areas. Gires focus on energy and infrastructure projects has continued since 2003, when he co-founded RDEVCO, LLC."
In a personal statement also published on the website, Gire claims that Richmond is a company that 'cares for the people' in its business dealings.
Ive tried to create a company that cares deeply about the people it serves, by creating the roots for advancing them economically. I think the work we do at RDEVCO accomplishes that, he states.
According to the online profile, Gire has participated in numerous international trade delegations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
But it does not offer any specifics.
Gire says his experience in Tanzania and Africa as a whole inspired him to give back to the community.
The first time I set my foot back on African soil after so many years away, I was overcome with so many emotions - joy, nostalgia and this tremendous sense of my own mortality. I like to think that the things I build today will be there long after Im gone, he says.
Ambassador Lucke, described on the website as the Richmond companys director of government relations, served as the US envoy to Swaziland from 2004 to 2006.
RDEVCO is excited to welcome Ambassador Lucke and we look forward to his wise counsel, enthusiasm, and passion for international development, says another statement on the website.
Until June 2006, the Richmond company was barely known to the Tanzanian public. But since then, it has quickly assumed an infamous reputation owing to its being the primary factor in an entirely-bogus emergency power generation contract with the state-run Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO).
A parliamentary probe team led by Kyela legislator Dr Harrison Mwakyembe last year uncovered clear indications of massive corruption in the Richmond deal, leading to the resignations of the then prime minister Edward Lowassa and senior Cabinet ministers Nazir Karamagi and Dr Ibrahim Msabaha.
The Richmond scandal is now widely expected to resurface yet again in the latest National Assembly session which started this week in Dodoma
The company, which lists its official address as 5825 Schumacher Lane in Houston, Texas, has recently refurbished its website which now makes no mention of its previous or ongoing business interests in Tanzania.
Richmond is described on the website rdevco.com - as a premiere firm specializing in infrastructure development and energy markets, and names Gire, a Tanzanian national of Asian Indian descent - and a former US ambassador, Lewis Lucke, as the companys two-man leadership team.
Mr Gire brings a unique blend of talent and over 20 years of business insight to growing companies. In 1985, he started the Richmond Printing Company, now one of the largest printing businesses in Texas, says the website, adding:
"This experience fostered his interest in advanced technologies. With his savvy talent for real estate and management, he ventured into other areas. Gires focus on energy and infrastructure projects has continued since 2003, when he co-founded RDEVCO, LLC."
In a personal statement also published on the website, Gire claims that Richmond is a company that 'cares for the people' in its business dealings.
Ive tried to create a company that cares deeply about the people it serves, by creating the roots for advancing them economically. I think the work we do at RDEVCO accomplishes that, he states.
According to the online profile, Gire has participated in numerous international trade delegations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
But it does not offer any specifics.
Gire says his experience in Tanzania and Africa as a whole inspired him to give back to the community.
The first time I set my foot back on African soil after so many years away, I was overcome with so many emotions - joy, nostalgia and this tremendous sense of my own mortality. I like to think that the things I build today will be there long after Im gone, he says.
Ambassador Lucke, described on the website as the Richmond companys director of government relations, served as the US envoy to Swaziland from 2004 to 2006.
RDEVCO is excited to welcome Ambassador Lucke and we look forward to his wise counsel, enthusiasm, and passion for international development, says another statement on the website.
Until June 2006, the Richmond company was barely known to the Tanzanian public. But since then, it has quickly assumed an infamous reputation owing to its being the primary factor in an entirely-bogus emergency power generation contract with the state-run Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO).
A parliamentary probe team led by Kyela legislator Dr Harrison Mwakyembe last year uncovered clear indications of massive corruption in the Richmond deal, leading to the resignations of the then prime minister Edward Lowassa and senior Cabinet ministers Nazir Karamagi and Dr Ibrahim Msabaha.
The Richmond scandal is now widely expected to resurface yet again in the latest National Assembly session which started this week in Dodoma
