Scrutiny of tenders will reduce bribery tab taxpayer picks up

By Joseph Njogu

The sheer lack of depth and quality with regards to technical evaluation of tenders in Government is shocking.

The problem can be traced to middle to lower level procurement officials. While many are professionals, the same cannot be said of their colleagues.

Sadly, it sometimes takes a tragic event to shine the spotlight on how costly mistakes in tendering can be.

Questions have already been raised over the process the State used to acquire the chelicopter that ended the lives of former Internal Security Minister Prof George Saitoti, his assistant Orwa Ojode and several police officers.

Fire brigade

It is especially critical, given the high rate of crime that contracts related to national security meet very high standards.

Before this there was the infamous Anglo Leasing contracts that cost two powerful Cabinet ministers their jobs.

And then there is the recent intrigue around the Sh5 billion tender for the National Surveillance Command and Control System project.

This was a restricted tender allowed under Part V and Section 73 of the Public Procurement Disposal Act. Such tendering is deemed okay if:

(a) Competition for contract, because of the complex or specialised nature of the goods, works or services, is limited to prequalified contractors;

(b) The time and cost required to examine and evaluate a large number of tenders would be disproportionate to the value of the goods, works or services to be procured; and

(c) There are only a few known suppliers of the goods, works or services as may be prescribed in the regulations.

Level of leakage

That the project is critical, especially with elections due, is not in doubt. If well executed, it should promote efficiency through better communication among various security agencies and public safety services including fire brigades, traffic management and ambulance.

But aspersions have already been cast against the process through which the tender was awarded to a Chinese firm.

Information indicates that the firm quoted a price that was double what the Government was initially willing to pay.

The level of leakages and bad press the tender has attracted is worrying and for this the procurement team at the Ministry of Internal Security must take its fair share of blame.

It is their job to ensure tenders are not perceived to be in favour of a particular vendor, and that all shortlisted bidders are thoroughly investigated. Either the team failed in this respect, or simply ignored issues brought to their attention. 

Similar bungling was evident when the Electoral and Boundaries Commission sought to buy the biometric voter registration (BVR) kits.

Where a project is financed by a soft loan from a friendly government like China or the US, companies from those countries are given preference, but that does not mean due diligence should not be done. This is because, ultimately, the taxpayers will still foot the cost and an inflated bid price is often a sign that some a company is saddling them with its bribery bill.

There is special focus on national security because criminals are getting smarter, Kenya is at war with Al Shabaab in Somalia and various police arms are being integrated under a central command.

The police must have quality equipment — including modern helicopters — to do their job but faulty procurement would make this impossible.

The National Surveillance Command and Control System project is a good one, as were the Anglo Leasing-type projects.

The problem is the execution, starting with the tendering.

Anglo Leasing

The problem is the high level of corruption in Government since State contracts are still easy targets for self-enrichment and raising cash for political campaigns.

Despite receiving plenty of bad rap, including some from senior State officials in the recent past, the Public Procurement Disposal Act Cap 412c is good law.

Delays are artificial and are largely due to bureaucratic barriers created by officials seeking payoffs. Security contracts are especially susceptible to corruption since most are restricted tenders.

Examples include the Anglo Leasing contracts that are still the subject of court cases.

All national security projects are necessary if the police are to get an edge over criminals, but it is equally critical that the Government gets it right the first time.

The writer works in the security industry.