Kebs taken to court over exports tender award

The Public Procurement Administrate Review Board has started hearing a multi-billion tender case filed by an Austrian firm against the local standards agency.

The case arose from a decision by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) to have more inspector companies on board to help in the inspection of goods before leaving the export country into Kenya.

Kebs had last December floated the tender for enlargement of provision of Pre–export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) to standards service. The tender was seeking to have more firms to ensure that products being imported into the country are verified before they are imported. 

Tender process

TUV Austria Turk through its lawyer Sisule Musungu challenged Kebs award of tenders to other companies, claiming their firm had not been fairly treated during the tender process.

Kebs had called for interested bidders to submit their applications to offers on PVoC of standards services for general goods, used motor vehicles, mobile equipment and spare parts. This would mean that all goods will be inspected in their country of origin.

TUV Austria Turk claims it was not given the reasons for their disqualification, a clear breach by Kebs of Section 87 (3) of the Public Procurement Disposal (PPDA) Act, which provide that an applicant should be given sufficient reasons as to the rejections of the tender for the preliminary non-responsive.

The firm claimed that Kebs also failed to notify them of all the addenda and also did not announce the form and presence or absence of tender security at the tender open for all tenderers.

“Following announcement of the tender, Kebs issued several addenda, amending the tender but did not formally notify the applicant of these amendments,” read part of the application by the Austrian firm. 

The tender is also a subject of investigation by the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission following allegations of graft.