Kebs cuts ties with Japanese vehicle firm

The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) has struck off a Japanese company from its roll of motor vehicle inspectors for allowing overage and defective vehicles into the country.

The national standards body warned Kenyans in a statement posted on its website that its contract with Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Company (Jevic) has been terminated.

"This is to notify all importers of motor vehicles into Kenya that the contract for motor vehicle inspection between Kebs and Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Center Co. has been terminated in line with the current contract that expires on January 15, 2015. Please be advised," the statement reads in part.

Kebs Chairman Lucas Maitha yesterday said they took the decision after verifying more than 200 complaints raised against Jevic. The company was contracted by Kebs to conduct inspection for vehicles destined for Kenya from Japan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Singapore and South Africa.

"It is true we have terminated our contract with Jevic and that is irrevocable for now. The council found out that they were actually letting in defective and overage vehicles into the country, which is against the regulations," he said on phone.

Mr Maitha said the council made the decision after several months of investigations, adding, "We had to do investigations and this has been verified. Jevic failed to do the work we gave them and that is why we have terminated their services."

Two Japanese firms, Jevic and QISJ, had competed for the lucrative tender, but the management backtracked on the tendering committee's decision that had declared QISJ the winner. The firm was later found to have failed to meet the conditions set in the initial tendering process.

A board meeting on October 31, 2011 agreed that the tender be awarded to Quality Inspection Service of Japan (QISJ), but Kebs management at the time defied the orders and subsequently cancelled the tender on November 1. The Public Procurement and Oversight Authority (PPOA) had said the tendering was flawed and needed to be repeated, but the ruling was ignored.

PPOA had expressed concern over the awarding of marks by the evaluation committee and noted that the process was riddled with personal and political interests right from the start.

Insiders at Kebs told The Standard that the management of Jevic camped at Kebs managing director's office for the better part of yesterday as they sought audience. An investigation by The Standard in April exposed how overage vehicles were cleared in by Jevic company in Mombasa.

By allowing overage cars, Kenyans could be losing millions of shillings buying vehicles at a price above their real values.