ADCC International East Africa Limited filed a Request for Review dated 13th April 2023 demanding that the Review Board make a declaration that the purported evaluation process conducted on their bid by NHC was grossly unfair, and unreasonable and failed to comply with the provisions of the law as well as requirements set out in the Tender document. They also prayed that NHC be directed to re-evaluate their bid herein under the law
By The Weekly Vision
The management of National Housing Corporation has been caught up in a multimillion shillings tender scam with allegations that money exchanging hands to favour a specific company. It is alleged that the NHC team led by Managing Director David Mathu and General Manager Joel Gatune had given express instructions to the Procurement Department that a multimillion shillings tender be awarded to a specific company.
NHC Board Chair Yusuff Chanzu who was appointed recently by President William Ruto is said to have confided in his trusted board members that heads will soon roll and those found culpable will face the music. The bribery claim concerns Tender No. NHC/TECH/BIM/018/2022-23 for the Supply, Installation, Configuration and Commissioning of a Building Information Modeling (BIM) System in which the favoured company was HI-CAD Africa Limited.
A company trading as ADCC International East Africa Limited claims the tendering process was fraudulent and that it was locked out of the process unfairly hence the request for review where the subject tender submission deadline was on 1st March 2023 at 11.00 a.m. According to the Tender Opening Minutes, a total of 2 tenderers were recorded as having submitted their bids in response to the subject tender (HI-CAD Africa Limited and ADCC International East Africa Limited).
The tenders were evaluated; they were required to meet a minimum score of 70 marks to proceed for further evaluation. At the end of the evaluation stage, ADCC International East Africa Limited’s tender was found non-responsive while HI-CAD Africa Limited’s tender proceeded for evaluation at the Financial Evaluation Stage. The Evaluation Committee identified the lowest evaluated responsive tender submitted to be that of HI-CAD Africa Limited. Evaluation Committee’s Recommendation The Evaluation Committee recommended the award of the subject tender to HICAD Africa Limited at their tender sum of Kshs.33, 951,489.38.
The Head of Procurement, Mr Auko C. MC Omondi, reviewed how the subject procurement process was undertaken and concurred with the recommendations of the Evaluation Committee concerning the award of the subject tender. The Professional opinion was approved by QS. David Mathu, the Procuring Entity’s Managing Director. However on 14th April 2023, ADCC International East Africa Limited filed a Request for Review dated 13th April 2023. They demanded that the Review Board make a declaration that the purported evaluation process conducted on their bid by NHC was grossly unfair, and unreasonable and fails to comply with the provisions of the law as well as requirements set out in the Tender document. They also prayed that NHC be directed to re-evaluate their bid herein under the law.
But NHC in a quick rejoinder maintained that their bid was nonresponsive and did not attain the 70% threshold. According to the evaluation report, ADCC International East Africa Limited scored 36 marks, way below the 70 marks required to proceed to financial evaluation. ADCC International East Africa Limited refuted the score and the reasons provided by the NHC and argued that it was unfairly evaluated by the NHC and that, in fact, had it been correctly evaluated it would have scored 92 marks at Technical Evaluation Stage.
In the ruling, the board noted that “The Board’s look at the recommendation letters provided by the Applicant reveals that they met the requirement of the tender document from the foregoing observations that the scoring by the Evaluation Committee left out some marks that would otherwise have been awarded to the Applicant”. The Board further noted that on the requirement for experienced and trained EAC instructors, the Applicant provided CVs for Titus Akwara, Obed Kiprotich and Anthony Mwangi Macharia which met the criteria set out in the tender document.
The ruling reads in part “For all of the foregoing the Board finds that the Applicant’s tender was not fairly evaluated at the technical evaluation stage. Accordingly this ground of review succeeds and is allowed”. The board ruled “It is the further finding of the Board that the Applicant’s tender was not evaluated as per the technical criteria provided for under the Tender Document. In the exercise of the powers conferred upon it by Section 173 of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, No. 33 of 2015,
The board on a ruling dated 5th May 2023 reads “Notification to intention to award dated 20th March 2023 be and are hereby nullified and and aside and that KMC is ordered to redirect the tender committee to readmit the ADCC International East Africa Limited into the tender process and to evaluate its tender starting at the technical evaluation stage. NHC has also been ordered to proceed with the tendering process to its logical conclusion”.
