Fourteen companies have sued the Agriculture PS for failing to provide contracts for the construction of small dams in counties.
Maalin Trading Ltd and New World Choices were among successful bidders for the tenders to build water pans in various counties. The projects are under the national water harvesting and groundwater exploitation programme.
They were given letters showing they had been awarded the tenders but the PS refused to provide the contracts.
They want the court to compel the PS to execute the respective contracts for the construction of water pans.
“The PS has refused to execute contracts in respect of tender number MWI/SDI/ONT/002/2017-2018 as directed by the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board in its decision dated January 24, 2018, and July 20, 2018, and March 7, 2018,” read part of the court documents.
The companies claim the PS was directed to execute the contracts within 14 days from the date of each of the decisions of the board.
They argue, through lawyer Samson Kinyanjui, that the PS has exposed them to hefty expenses both in litigation before the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board and court.
They include preparing bid documents and acquiring bid bonds which have to be renewed pending the signing of the contracts.
“The respondent’s actions are unlawful, arbitrary, malicious, unreasonable, and discriminatory and actuated by bad faith,” they said.
Edited by Pamela Wanambisi
