ICT Youth and Innovation CS Joe Mucheru. [Samson Wire. Standard]
Details of several government contracts may not be made public due to non-disclosure agreements, ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru has said.
In an interview with Spice FM Wednesday, Mucheru said some contracts are signed with confidential clauses, which makes it impossible for the government to share details publicly.
He referenced the Standard Gauge Railway infrastructure project between Kenya and China, which has been bound by secrecy since its inception.
“Say, we were given a better deal than another country and China doesn’t want that country to know, and we go ahead and publish that info., we will not secure other deals in the future because we can’t keep secrets,” Mucheru said.
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About a fortnight ago, Kenya declined to make public contents of the SGR contracts, saying they have non-disclosure clauses.
“Those could be the reasons why Kenya has agreed to keep this a secret,” the ICT CS noted.
He, however, added that in the spirit of openness and transparency, persons interested in applying for government tenders or seeking more information can visit tenders.go.ke, managed by the National Treasury.
“Visit the tenders.go.ke website and you will see what the tenders are, who is bidding, who won and even details of which committee decided.”
President Uhuru Kenyatta had, in 2018, in a televised address promised to make the contents of the SGR contract public, but advised against it after consultations.
