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How much do we really know about the country’s public procurement process?
Chapter 12 of Constitution on public finance commits the government to transparency; efficiency and cost effectiveness as far as use of public funds is concerned. Article 227 (1) that specifically addresses public procurement states that:
“When a State organ or any other public entity contracts for goods or services, it shall do so in accordance with a system that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective.”
Given the recent procurement scandals one wonders to what extent the constitutional provisions and pursuant legislation is actually being followed. It seems that recently there have been an unprecedented number of procurement related scandals.
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Tassia project which was initially priced at Sh.4.6 billion and moved to Sh.5.033, an almost million dollar increase is currently being investigated by the National Assembly’s Labour and Social Welfare Committee as well as the Public Investment Committee.
The press reports that, “Director Jacqueline Mugo, who sits on the NSSF Board, told the Public Investment Committee of Parliament…that the Sh5 billion tender awarded to a Chinese company to construct access roads and other infrastructure in Tassia was done without the knowledge of the board.”
Recently the Director of Public Prosecutions ordered the arrest of the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya for abuse of office for controversially awarding a Sh1.2 billion software security contract to a British firm. The Nation reported that process led to the loss of more than Sh400 million of public funds. The Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission recommend that the CBK governor and other bank officials be charged for failing to comply with public-procurement rules.
Parliament is also investigating whether procurement procedures were followed in awarding of the tender for the supply of laptops for standard one pupils. The project is quoted as being worth Sh22 billion for the supply of 1.3 million laptops for standard one pupils, and 20,637 laptops for teachers and an equivalent number of projectors and printers. The National Assembly’s Education Committee has requested that the process be stopped while the Committee ascertains that due diligence was performed in the award of the tender.
Then of course there is, the Sh327 billion Standard Gauge Railway, the country biggest infrastructural investment, currently being probed by the Public Investment Committee (PIC) as well as the Departmental Committee on Transport.
It seems that despite the existence of the constitutional requirement for transparency in public procurement processes, the pursuant legislation, and bodies created to ensure accountability, it seems that public procurement procedures used in the infrastructural development remain vague and opaque. One wonders if this is deliberately so. Multi billion infrastructural and development projects do offer multiple opportunities for misappropriation of funds.
What are we not being told? Can we be told what the tendering process was? Was it advertised? How many people applied? Why was the person who won the tender? It will be interesting to see what the National Assembly committees investigating the scandals recommend and whether their recommendations will improve the overall transparency in public procurement.
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