Editorials

EDITORIAL: Overhaul procurement machine at polls agency

voters

Kenyans queue to register as voters early LAST year. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Claims that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) may have paid millions of shillings for electronic voter identification kits delivered to Kenya free of charge are shocking and must be thoroughly investigated.

If proven, the alleged payment of Sh25.9 million to Face Technologies for extra electronic voter identification devices (Evids) that were delivered to replace faulty ones ahead of the March 4, 2013 General Election is actionable and all those involved must be made to account for their actions.

Procurement rip-offs are not new at the electoral agency going by an infamous Chickengate scandal in which Kenyan taxpayers bore the brunt of inflated tenders that were then paid in bribes to officials of the defunct Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) and the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec).

British printing firm Smith & Ouzman was found guilty of paying Sh52 million bribes to Kenyan officials to win lucrative tenders at the IIEC and the Knec but their co-conspirators are still out there enjoying the loot.

READ: Chiloba on the spot over millions paid for free voter kits

Parliament and investigative agencies should, therefore, strive to get to the bottom of the IEBC deal with Face Technologies for the sake of safeguarding the Kenyan taxpayer.

Irrespective of the outcome, investigations into the payout to Face Technologies should offer an opportunity to review the IEBC procurement systems.

The IEBC controls a huge procurement budget that makes it an obvious target for cartels and dodgy officials keen on enriching themselves through skewed transactions.

All procurement programmes at IEBC should be planned well ahead of next polls and subjected to thorough review and audit before implementation. This would be a sure way of locking out cartels that thrive on crisis situations brought about by tight deadlines.

The officials tasked with procurement functions at the IEBC should also be vetted afresh to remove all the bad apples that may have perpetuated corruption at the agency.

IEBC plays a sensitive role in the governance of this country and all its operations must stay above board.