No State business for rogue firms in Kenya

Members of the private sector who flout procurement laws risk having their companies barred from participating in bidding for Government tenders.

The private sector will be required to meet new conditions set by the Government as it seeks to tame corruption in the tendering system within the public sector.

Attorney General Githu Muigai and the President’s Senior Adviser Abdikadir Mohamed consult after President Uhuru Kenyatta addressed the nation on the proposed Anti-Bribery Bill at State House, Nairobi, yesterday. (PHOTO: PSCU)

President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday said companies seeking to participate in Government tenders at both the national and county levels will have to sign an approved Business Code of Ethics prepared by the Public Procurement Oversight Authority.

"Any business that fails to comply with the code will be disqualified from doing business with the Government for a period not less than five years and the information will be made public," said the President.

The ban will also extend to the company's directors and an additional de-registration from all business associations shall also be meted out. "Accounting officers, AIE holders and supply chain officers will be held personally liable for doing any Government business with blacklisted companies," he said.

The Government's move follows sustained pressure on the Jubilee administration to rein in corruption with new allegations surfacing at an alarming rate.

This is the second time the Government is putting perpetrators of tender corruption, popularly referred to as tenderpreneurs, on notice.

Two weeks ago, Chief Justice Willy Mutunga challenged the private sector to fight corruption within its ranks, stating that the private sector also needed to take up the fight against graft. "The business community needs to tell the country what it has done to those of its members who supply goods and services to Government agencies at mind-boggling and inflated prices," said Dr Mutunga.

He added: "The private sector cannot remain mute in the face of massive corruption where its members are involved. When grotesque prices are given for any item, we cannot simply claim that the tendering process was open, and that there was competition, and that the tender committee awarded the 'best or lowest'."

Early last month, Information Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i said the Government would blacklist suppliers and firms who scuttled tender processes through lawsuits as has happened in the past.

"In the past a lot of time has been wasted by tenderpreneurs and briefcase companies who waste the time of Government with frivolous lawsuits," said a visibly irritated Matiang'i.

"We are not going to be bogged down. We are going to take a tough stance on suppliers, or people who have their own vested interests and we will bar them from doing business in our country."