As President William Ruto’s flagship Affordable Housing Programme continues to generate national debate, the proposed development in Loitoktok, in Kajiado South Constituency, has hit a snag following procurement irregularities.
The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) has intervened after a multi-billion-shilling tender was improperly awarded to a construction firm, raising concerns over transparency and accountability in the ambitious project.
According to tender opening minutes published by the State Department for Housing and Urban Development on 24 September 2024, five bidders had submitted their proposals by the stipulated deadline. Upon review by the evaluation committee, it was determined that only the bid submitted by Jasir Contractors Ltd met the evaluation criteria. Two bids, including one from Jijenge Precast Construction Company, were deemed unresponsive.
Jasir Contractors Ltd was awarded the contract worth Sh2,179,423,254, with notification letters dispatched on 24 January 2025 and the official award letter following on 24 March 2025. However, on 11 March 2025, Jijenge Precast Construction Company filed a formal request for review, citing several unfair procurement practices that allegedly led to the unjustified rejection of its bid. The firm urged the PPARB to compel the State Department to reassess its submission.
Central to the dispute is a claim that Jijenge’s bid was disqualified due to a discrepancy in the Bill of Quantities (BQ) concerning foul drainage specifications, specifically, the floors were erroneously listed as ranging from the first to the 14th instead of correctly indicating the 10th floor.
In a ruling dated 7 April 2025, the board stated: “In light of the foregoing analysis, the board concludes that the evaluation committee erred in law by failing to uphold the principles of fairness, accountability, and equal treatment.”
The board further noted that while Jijenge’s bid was disqualified for BQ inconsistencies, the successful bidder, Jasir Contractors Ltd also exhibited several discrepancies in its proposal. Despite this, the evaluation committee still found the Jasir bid to meet the criteria, raising red flags about inconsistent application of evaluation criteria.
Consequently, the PPARB has annulled the letter of intent to award issued to Jasir Contractors Ltd and ordered a full re-evaluation of all submitted bids, including Jijenge’s. The board has directed the evaluation committee to complete this reassessment and reach a fresh award decision within 21 days from the ruling date of 1 April 2025.
The development is expected to delay progress on the Loitoktok housing project, which forms part of the government’s broader plan to deliver affordable homes across the country.
