A parliamentary committee kicked off its probe into the controversial Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) ramp passenger bus services, with the Ministry of Transport admitting that the procurement for the services were suspicious and ‘bordering on a criminality’.
The KAA management and the ministry disclosed the wanting manner a concessionaire agreement was reached, which would see five buses paid close to Sh12 million each per month to transport passengers within the airport.
Acting KAA Managing Director Yatich Kangugo told the committee that a recommendation by a negotiating committee that the authority abandons the tendering process as it was expensive was dismissed.
KAA awarded the tender to MS Relief and Mission Logistics Company, which had placed its cost for the services at Sh12 million. The tender committee disqualified the only other company that had bid for the services, Pewin Cabs Ltd at about Sh8 million.
Infrastructure PS John Mosonik, who is also acting in the Transport docket since the stepping down of his colleague in the ministry Nduva Muli, told the National Assembly’s Transport Committee that an internal investigation had poked serious issues on the procurement of the five buses based at concessionaire the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport that required criminal investigations.
“The entire process of procurement, evaluation and operations indicates there are many questions on this issue and more especially on whether Kenyans are getting value for their money in the deal. As a board, we thought the issues surrounding these buses bordered on criminality, thus we referred the matter for investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission,” said Mosonik yesterday.
His opinion followed concerns raised by committee Chairman Maina Kamanda, who said the procurement process indicated that the tender to offer the services were deliberately tailored to suit particular individuals.
“This tender, just like all others at KAA, was tailormade for specific people. There are all indications that this was a fraudulent deal,” argued Kamanda.
President Uhuru Kenyatta raised the issue of the buses when he was at JKIA last month to open Terminal Two, directing that actions be taken against those culpable.
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