Agency in trouble over inflated road tender award to firm

A local company was allowed to fix tender prices for the road connecting Mombasa to Miritini, exposing taxpayers to an extra cost of Sh200 million, it has emerged.

According to the National Assembly Public Investment Committee (PIC), SS Mehta was given a blank bill of quantities to fill in the price upon which the tender was priced.

This saw the cost of building the road that was initially to cost taxpayers Sh300 million go up to Sh500 million.

“A representative of the company met Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) officials at the third-floor boardroom on June 26, 2013, where he had been given the bill of quantities prior to the meeting,” said PIC Chairman Abdul Swamad Nassir (Mvita).

Repackaged bid

He said KeNHA’s decision to award the tender was mired by irregularities after it opted to directly procure the services of Mehta on the pretext of following a presidential directive.

Talewa Road Contractors had been awarded the tender for the road on the stretch where the Standard Gauge Railway terminates, but only managed to complete just over 40 per cent of the works.

KeNHA then cancelled the tender and repackaged the bid documents to include Bomu Hospital Road and Changamwe Refinery road to divert traffic and cut congestion.

The agency boss Peter Mundinia told the committee the authority took the decision as it was hard-pressed to comply with the 100 days rapid result initiative meant to cut the time taken to move cargo from the Mombasa port from 15 days to four days.