A firm that lost the multimillion tender to service Treasury’s Integrated Financial Management System has asked a court to quash the award to a rival.
ADK Technologies in consortium with Transnational Computer Technologies claims the winning bid by Kingsway Business Systems jointly with Kobby Technologies and Inplenion East Africa did not meet the technical specifications.
ADK says Kingsway Business Systems and associates specialise in insurance services and not ICT products as required by the tender.
Five companies bid for the tender including the two and Sybyl Kenya, Next Technologies, and Ubora Systems and Solutions jointly with Tech Mahindra.
The Kingsway consortium was picked as the winning bidder quoting Sh647 million. Next Technologies quoted Sh651 million while ADK quoted Sh898.9 million.
The petitioner’s bid was dismissed because it quoted the highest price.
ADK filed its first case before the Public Procurement Administrative Review board but was dismissed.
Samuel Haile Nigussie, the firm’s project manager says claims that the bid price was above the market rates is unfounded and untrue. No standard price was given in the tender document, he says.
The company wants the board ordered to review the case afresh.
Nigussie said a search on the Oracle Partners Finders website established that the winning bidder did not meet the mandatory minimum qualification.
The bidder must have had a minimum of two Oracle partner specialisation or advanced specialisation for the requested products such as Oracle EBS Financial, Oracle EBS Supply Chain, Oracle SOA, Oracle Hyperion.
“I verily believe that procuring entity might have engaged in a flawed procurement process and acted against the laid down laws and procedures, to tilt the scales to enable them carry out a sham procurement process and act in breach of the provisions of law in order to favor the 3rd Interested Party (Kingsway),” he said.
Judge Jairus Ngaa who heard the matter on March 6 certified it as urgent and directed that status quo be maintained pending determination.
“Upon considering the application, the statutory statement and the verifying affidavit I am also satisfied that the applicant’s case for the prerogative orders sought is arguable,” Justice Ngaa ruled.
