Procurement agency sued over unfair tender award

Public Procurement Administrative Review Board is again in the spotlight unfair award of road maintenance tenders.

In a court filing by Kenya Rural Roads Authority (Kerra), Roben Aberdere Limited accuses the procurement agency of contracting China Railway Engineering Group Limited without evaluating the bids.

It says in a court filing that Kenya Rural Roads Authority had, in a March 27, 2018,  notice invited bids on behalf of the Ministry of Transport for the upgrading to bitumen standards and performance-based routine maintenance of roads.

Roads subject to the preceding bid were Enderasha-Charity-Gakanaga-Ebaringo-Kimunyuru-Jnct, Mweiga-Amboni-Bondeni-Riiru-Kirandi-Junction, Issaco Camp- Mahinga- Sangare and  Solio Kabati Gitegi –Honi River (BS)-Wendiga Shopping Centre-Mairo roads totalling 67 kilometres.

The date of submission of the bids was on or before April 19, last year. 

However, Kerra subsequently revised the bid documents on several occasions and as a consequence, the date of submission was revised from the set date to May 3 and then to May 10, last year.

 “By a letter dated March 18, Kerra notified the applicant that their (Roben’s) bid was unsuccessful because it was not the lowest evaluated bidder. Roben was further notified that the contract for the project had been awarded to M/s China Railway Engineering Group Limited,” the filing states.

Upon opening of the bids, it emerged that the bid price submitted by one of the bidders - Furat Construction Limited - was identical to the amount set in the engineer’s estimate in respect of the project.

Roben Aberdere accuses the agency of possible collusion with the awarded bidder.

“An engineer’s estimate of the cost of the works is an extremely confidential calculation which is made to enable the procuring entity an estimation of the sum required for the project,” Roben's lawyers Ngatia and Associates stated. 

In 2017, a local daily reported that PPARB was also sued for awarding a Sh4.5 billion tender to a contractor before the roads agency had completed evaluating bids.

Kerra claimed PPARB had at that time awarded Roben a tender to upgrade 98km roads in Nyeri and Murang’a before it announced the winner.

(Edited by R.Wamochie)