The World Bank has barred three PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) network firms in Kenya, Rwanda and Mauritius from participating in its projects for 21 months after determining that they engaged in collusive and fraudulent practices linked to a major regional power initiative, the lender said on March 18, in a move that underscores rising scrutiny of governance standards in Africa’s infrastructure and energy financing.
According to the World Bank, PwC Kenya, PwC Rwanda and PwC Associates in Mauritius improperly obtained confidential procurement information from project officials in 2019 to influence the awarding of consultancy contracts under the Eastern Africa Power Integration Program, specifically the Ethiopian Electricity Highway Project. The project is a flagship regional transmission initiative designed to expand electricity supply in Kenya while enabling Ethiopia to export surplus hydropower, generating foreign exchange revenues and strengthening cross-border energy trade.
The investigation found that the firms misrepresented the availability and qualifications of key experts and failed to fully disclose subcontracting arrangements during the bidding and implementation phases. Such actions, the Bank said, constituted collusive and fraudulent conduct under its procurement framework, which governs billions of dollars in development financing across emerging markets.
The debarment follows a negotiated settlement in which the firms admitted wrongdoing and agreed to a series of remedial measures. The World Bank said the 21-month ban reflects mitigating factors, including cooperation with investigators, internal reviews, staff training and voluntary suspension from bidding during the inquiry. The firms must now implement integrity compliance programmes aligned with World Bank standards before regaining eligibility for future contracts.
PricewaterhouseCoopers Africa Limited, which coordinates the network’s operations across the continent, was not sanctioned but is a signatory to the settlement, committing to oversight of compliance improvements within its member firms. The arrangement reflects the Bank’s increasing emphasis on system-wide accountability within global professional services networks operating in African markets.
The case centres on a strategically significant infrastructure corridor. The Ethiopian Electricity Highway Project, a high-voltage transmission line linking Ethiopia and Kenya, forms part of a broader effort to integrate East Africa’s power systems, reduce reliance on costly diesel generation and stabilise electricity supply in fast-growing urban economies. According to regional energy planning frameworks, cross-border interconnections are expected to lower generation costs, improve grid reliability and support industrialisation by enabling power pooling among countries with differing energy endowments.
For African economies, where public infrastructure projects are often financed through concessional loans and grants from multilateral institutions, procurement integrity is closely tied to fiscal outcomes. Irregularities in contract awards can inflate project costs, delay implementation and weaken the economic returns of already capital-intensive investments. In the energy sector, such inefficiencies can translate into higher tariffs, constrained access and slower expansion of productive capacity.
The World Bank’s sanctions regime, which includes debarment and conditional non-debarment, is a central tool in enforcing its anti-corruption guidelines. Firms found to have engaged in misconduct can be excluded not only from World Bank-financed projects but also from those funded by other multilateral development banks under cross-debarment agreements. This amplifies the commercial and reputational consequences for global consultancies and contractors operating in Africa’s development space.
The decision comes at a time when African governments are scaling up infrastructure pipelines to address persistent deficits in energy, transport and water systems. According to development finance estimates, the continent requires tens of billions of dollars annually to close its infrastructure gap, with energy projects accounting for a significant share. Much of this financing continues to rely on external partners, making adherence to procurement standards a key condition for sustained capital flows.
In East Africa, regional power integration has been positioned as a cornerstone of economic transformation. Ethiopia has invested heavily in hydropower capacity, including large-scale dams intended to generate export revenues, while Kenya has pursued a diversified energy mix anchored in geothermal, wind and imports. Efficient transmission links between the two countries are therefore critical to balancing supply and demand across borders. Disruptions or governance failures in such projects risk undermining both fiscal planning and investor confidence.
The PwC case also highlights the role of advisory firms in shaping public-sector project outcomes. Consulting and audit firms are frequently engaged to design procurement processes, evaluate bids and provide technical oversight. Failures in these functions can have cascading effects on project governance, particularly in environments where institutional capacity is uneven.
For policymakers, the episode reinforces the need to strengthen domestic procurement systems alongside compliance with donor requirements. While multilateral oversight can detect and penalise misconduct, long-term resilience depends on national institutions capable of managing complex contracts transparently and independently. This includes investing in digital procurement platforms, audit capabilities and enforcement mechanisms.
The World Bank said the debarment is intended to safeguard the integrity of its operations and ensure that participating firms meet established ethical standards. For African countries navigating constrained public finances and rising debt servicing pressures, the effectiveness of every dollar spent on infrastructure is increasingly critical. In that context, governance failures in high-value projects carry not only legal and reputational risks, but also tangible economic costs that can shape development trajectories.
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