By The Weekly Vision Reporter
When Pius Metto was named the new Director General of Sports Kenya by Sports Principal Secretary Peter Kaberia in 2019, stakeholders voiced concerns about his lack of experience in holding the docket. Despite their objections, the appointment stood. Mr. Metto, a former manager at the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), was entrusted with the responsibility of managing, developing, and preserving sports facilities in the country. This encompasses convention centres, indoor sports arenas, and recreational facilities.
The construction of Kamariny Stadium and Iten has been delayed due to Sports Kenya’s non-compliance with procurement regulations under Mr Metto, and tenders that were fraudulently awarded have since been invalidated by the Public Procurement Administrative Board. Due to the fraudulent manner in which the tender was awarded, the PPAB decided to cancel a multimillion-dollar tender for the design and building of the proposed Kamariny stadium and Iten training grounds, tender No. SK/E01/001/2o23-2024.
In a ruling dated May 28, 2024, the board nullified the letter of award dated April 14, 2024, and ordered the Evaluation Committee to conduct a fresh evaluation of all tenders submitted and to proceed with the procurement process to its logical conclusion. According to the tender committee minutes, 17 tenders were opened on January 26, 2024, at the end of the first evaluation stage, 11 tenders were found to be non-responsive, while 6 were determined responsive and proceeded to the next stage.
On April 3, 2024, the Principal Chain Supplies Officer, Mr Fredrick Mwema, concurred with the tender committee in an internal memo on how the tender process was carried out. Tenderers were notified of the same through a letter of notification dated April 15, 2024. However, on May 7, 2024, Modern Precast Ltd. filed a request for review dated May 7, 2024, through an affidavit by Mr. Chandresh Babariya, the company’s managing director.
In his affidavit, he sought orders to have his tender, which was termed non-responsive, readmitted, evaluated afresh alongside other tenders, and the letter of award nullified and set aside. In the affidavit, it was claimed that Modern Precast’s tender was dismissed on the ground that it did not provide the name of the contact person. However, the PPRB was notified that Modern Precast’s tender had indicated the name of the director, Mr Chandresh Babariya, which also had his telephone number and e-mail address. It was also noticed that the tender committee kept the successful bidders and reasons for their pre-qualification in secrecy, thereby denying Modern Precast the opportunity to challenge the reasons for pre-qualification.
The ruling by the board reads, “We understand that the applicant’s case in this issue is that its tender met all the eligibility and mandatory requirements of the tender document and that the decision to disqualify its tender at the preliminary evaluation stage on the ground that it did not provide the name of its contact person nor the power of attorney on behalf of its company was outrageous, illogical, discriminatory, unjustifiable, and unfair.”
The ruling further reads “The board deems it fit to order the first respondent to direct the Evaluation Committee to conduct a fresh evaluation of all tenders submitted in the subject tender. The upshot of our findings is that the instant request for review succeeds. The orders read, “The respondents are hereby directed to proceed with the procurement process to its logical conclusion, including the making of an award to the successful tenderer within 30 days from the date of this decision.”.
