Public Procurement Oversight Authority: Security tender award legal

The Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) has defended the security surveillance system contract awarded to Safaricom, saying it was above board.

The PPOA deputy head of procurement, Jane Njoroge, told the House Committee on Administration and National Security that the tender award was endorsed by the oversight body after being satisfied that the country was grappling with serious security challenges.

"Safaricom went through all the procedures including the technical evaluation before proceeding to the financial evaluation stage. It is our considered opinion that the tender award through single sourcing lies within the circumstances contemplated in law. The circumstances were urgent and unforeseeable," she explained.

The oversight body defended the Sh14.9 billion project even as Interior Principal Secretary Mutea Iringo warned that the National Assembly should not be seen to be an impediment to the implementation.

Mr Iringo said the increasing terrorism threat had justified the need for speedy implementation of the project.

"It is important that we dispense with the matter due to the serious security challenges we are facing. The National Assembly should not become part of the problem," he told the committee. "Although the terrorism problem has been there, we have not been able to put measures in place to deal with it. The project was conceived due to the dynamic nature of the terrorism threat. We do not have to wait for another incident for us to appreciate the urgency of the matter."

Terms of the contract include building of a high-speed, fourth-generation network - also known as Long Term Evolution Network - and supply of radio communication devices to police.

Head of procurement at the Interior ministry, Peter Mwangi, explained that although the Government never sought any prior independent opinion on the costing of the project before the decision to award the contract was made, experts from various agencies had been invited to interrogate Safaricom's proposal.

Among the institutions that considered the tender, according to Mr Mwangi, were the Information ministry and National Intelligence Service.

Dalmas Otieno (Rongo) and Ababu Namwamba (Budalang'i), however, criticised the manner in which the contract was awarded.

Mr Otieno said the Government might have accepted a contract figure that could not be justified against other projects of a similar nature.