Kenya Ports Authority on the spot over four tenders
The Kenya Ports Authority stand at the Agricultural Society of Kenya’s Mombasa international trade fair in November last year.
The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) may continue to pay millions of shillings to companies allegedly controlled by influential people, even though the contracts expired about a year ago.
The contracts emanating from four tenders expired on May 31, 2022, resulting in KPA paying about Sh30 million every month as the beneficiaries seek an injunction to have the tenders re-advertised and to stop award to new suppliers.
According to documents seen by the Nation, the award of the four tenders, which include refuse collection services (KPA/101/2022-23/HSE), cleaning and landscaping services (KPA/070/2022-23/HSE) and two tenders under housekeeping and cleaning services (KPA/075 and KPA/076/2022-23/ADM), are said to have been interfered with by politicians and cartels.
More than a year after the expiration of the four tenders, the circus surrounding them remains unresolved.
KPA extended the contracts to facilitate continuity of services for 17 zones after the tenders were challenged in court.
“A new tender process was initiated by the Authority in March and April. However, the Authority’s process was challenged in the High Court and the ensuing litigation is still ongoing. ...We wish to extend the said contracts to run until October 31, 2022 or until the conclusion of the court process,” reads part of the document from KPA’s supply chain management department.
Documents show that some of the firms affected by the court case include those of M/s Ollregy Investment, M/s Chenda Investments Ltd, M/s Salu Solutions and M/s Arilian Agencies, with their contracts having expired between June and July.
Injunction
As KPA was under a court injunction and needed to continue providing services, it continued to pay for the services, but the court dismissed the case in February 2023 and allowed the authority to re-advertise the tenders.
According to sources in the procurement department, the re-advertisement attracted over 400 bidders. But after the tenders were opened and before the evaluation process began, interested parties filed complaints with various government agencies, including the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board, claiming that the outcome had been predetermined and calling for the tender to be cancelled.
KPA Managing Director William Ruto approved the evaluation process, which ended in April.
Push and pull
Nearly three months after, KPA is yet to issue award letters to qualified bidders, with sources within the agency alleging that there has been a push and pull involving cartels interested in the tenders.
Efforts by the Nation to get Mr Ruto to comment on the status of the tenders proved futile as he did not pick our call or respond to our text messages.
The Nation has established that there has been a spirited campaign to discredit the outcome of the evaluation and plans to go to court to give room for few contractors to continue benefiting from status quo.
