By The Weekly Vision Team
The Kisumu County Procurement Office has come under scrutiny after opting to award a tender to the highest bidder instead of the lowest, raising concerns about the fairness of the process. The tender in question, Tender No. CGK/FLLOCA/KSM/WECCNR/2023-2024/LOT05, was advertised by the Kisumu County Government’s Department of Water, Environment, Climate Change, and Natural Resources for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Kisumu Rural Water Project.
The process was conducted through an open competitive tendering method. Eight firms submitted bids, namely Fairton Agencies Ltd, Evanton Co. Ltd, Shamas Road Contractors Ltd, Sanabil General Supplies, Robicon Engineering Ltd, Season Energy Ltd, Ralu Investment Ltd, and Ramas Enterprises Ltd. Following an initial evaluation, four firms were deemed nonresponsive, while four proceeded to the technical evaluation stage. Those that advanced to the final financial evaluation stage included Sanabil General Supplies (Kshs. 9,215,000), Evanton Co. Ltd. (Kshs. 8,444,530), Shamas Road Contractors Ltd. (Kshs. 9,495,000), and Season Energy Ltd. (Kshs. 9,675,000).
Despite Evanton Co. Ltd. offering the lowest bid at Kshs. 8,444,530, the Evaluation Committee recommended awarding the contract to Sanabil General Supplies at Kshs. 9,215,000, citing quality concerns based on the engineers’ estimates in the bills of quantities. The committee believed that awarding the contract to Evanton Co. Ltd. could compromise the quality of the work, leading to their decision.
In a professional opinion dated July 25, 2024, the Director of Supply Chain Management, Mr. Eliud O. Sotty, reviewed the procurement process and agreed with the committee’s recommendation to award the tender to Sanabil General Supplies. This recommendation was approved by Mr. Francis Asunah, the Chief Officer for Water, Environment, Natural Resources, and Climate Change, on the same date. The tenderers were informed of the decision via letters dated August 9, 2024.
However, on August 22, 2024, Evanton Co. Ltd., through its director, Anton Joel Ajowi Opar, filed a request for review, alleging that there was an intentional effort to exclude them from the tender despite being the lowest bidder. Mr. Opar raised concerns about possible collusion and bias within the Evaluation Committee, questioning the integrity of the process, especially given that Sanabil General Supplies’ bid was nearly Kshs. 600,000 higher than Evanton’s.
In response, the procurement committee defended its decision, stating that technical officers were not confident that Evanton Co. Ltd. could complete the project without price variations, leading to its disqualification.
In its ruling, the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board nullified the notification of the tender award, directing the Evaluation Committee to re-admit Evanton Co. Ltd.’s bid at the financial evaluation stage and re-evaluate all the bids. The board ordered that the tender should be awarded to the bidder with the lowest evaluated price, in accordance with Section 173 of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.
