By AUGUSTINE ODUOR
Kenya: The fight for the lucrative Sh24.6 billion laptops tender has now been narrowed down to how best two companies will impress at the best and final offer stage.
Either the Chinese firm, Haier Electricals Appliances Corporation Limited or Hewlett-Packard Limited from Europe (HP) will in the next 45 days be awarded the tender to supply 1.2 million laptops after the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board locked out Olive Telecommunications.
The board instructed the Ministry of Education to start the process from Bafo (Best and final offers) stage. “The procurement entity is directed to proceed with the tender process from the point of the opening of the best and final offers (Bafo) and thereafter conduct due diligence in accordance with the criteria set under clauses 34.2, 34.3 and 34.4,” said Josephine Mong’are, chairperson of the review board.
She said the procurement entity has only 45 days to complete the entire process including the making of an award.
Details from the previous Bafo process indicate that item price quotations and value additions proposed by the bidding forms will determine who takes the lucrative tender award. Documents seen by the Standard on Sunday show that the two firms-Haier and HP- underwent a competitive negotiation and that the price difference quoted is small.
Haier Electrical Appliances quoted Sh25.1 billion as HP quoted Sh25 billion.
This means that the value additions may decide who gets the tender award.
Additional cost
But the two firms will once more outdo each other during competitive negotiations. In the previous exercise, HP said it could produce up to 500,000 laptops per month as Haier said it would produce 600,000 devices in the same period.
On distribution, the ministry asked the firms to indicate how they would ensure the device is delivered across the country without any additional cost.
Haier promised to include its distribution networks to the counties while HP indicated that they have preferred partners in major towns in Kenya. The two firms promised to include how long it would take to distribute the devices once they land at the port of Mombasa.
On spare parts, HP confirmed availability of the same as Haier said it has a five-year guarantee for the same. Each firm promised to provide training for first line support on capacity building for technical skills transfer and teachers.
