Supply of adult ARVs will be restored after an application against a tender awarded to a private firm was dismissed.
India's Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited had sought to nullify a multimillion-shilling anti-retroviral drugs tender awarded to Mylan Laboratories Limited.
However, the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board on Wednesday instructed the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority to award the contract to the winning bidder.
The board entered the judgment on Tuesday, after dismissing an application for review dated March 18, 2019, filed by Emcure seeking to nullify the award.
“The procuring entity is at liberty to proceed with the procurement process to its logical conclusion,” the PPARB ruling reads.
The applicant failed to proceed to the technical evaluation stage because they attached the Pharmacy and Poisons Board 2018 retention certificate, instead of the 2019 one, which was a mandatory requirement.
“This essentially means the board agreed with our submissions that the tender evaluation committee rightly evaluated the applicant’s and indeed all bidders bid in accordance with the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act as well as the criteria set out in the tender document,” advocate Julius Ogamba, who represented Kemsa, said.
He said the board also agreed with Kemsa's position that the system the procuring entity adopted complied with Article 227 of the Constitution.
Kemsa CEO Jonah Manjari said the authority remains firmly committed to following the rules of procurement to the letter.
He said the medical supply chain provider will continue to uphold national values in all its procurement processes.
“In fulfilling our mandate, it’s important to have fair play for every bidder and this means that we encourage healthy competition at all levels of our process,” Manjari said.
The PPARB had on March 19 stopped Kemsa from going ahead with the procurement and entering into any contract with the successful tenderers until the appeal was finalised.
Edited by Eliud Kibii
