The Auditor General has flagged a laughable disposal of government vehicles, saying some of the bids were “extraordinary” going by the prices that showed that the top of the range cars went for a song.
Sad, they were not sold to the highest bidders as such. Indeed, the Ministry of Labour sold them below the bid prices.
For example, while a car that did not have any visible dents had a reserve price of Sh30,000, the highest bid of Sh100,000 did not carry the day and only Sh32,000 was paid.
Another that attracted a bid of up to Sh1.3 million — a Nissan Patrol — was sold for Sh250,000, less than 20 per cent of the highest bid.
Edward Ouko, the auditor general, says government officials, the auctioneers, and other parties must have colluded leading loss of public funds in a process that flouted the procurement law. For example, the bid notices only appeared in one national newspaper as opposed to two.
We find this flagrant disregard of the law unacceptable and the officers involved ought to be taken through the legal process and those found culpable punished. Any other beneficiaries should also be pursued, made to pay the right price and punished.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
