Tribunal backs Jubilee Health in Makueni medical cover row

The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) found that Britam had not met the legal threshold required to overturn or suspend the county’s procurement process for the provision of a comprehensive medical cover for county staff and their dependents.

The tribunal noted that the evaluation committee applied the criteria set out in the tender documents when it marked Britam’s bid as non-responsive.

It was found that Britam had failed to complete the code of ethics conduct form and also omitted the tender identification number during application.

In addition, Britam’s proposal was found to have negated the Salaries and Remuneration Commission guidelines on staff medical benefits and the requirement to provide a uniform provider network to all staff without categorisation.

“It is evident that a procuring entity cannot waive a mandatory requirement or term it as a "minor deviation" since a mandatory requirement is instrumental in determining the responsiveness of a tender and is a first hurdle that a tender must overcome in order to be considered for further evaluation,” said the review board.

“... public procurement espouses the principle of competition, which requires that participating tenderers should compete on equal footing such that any non-compliance with any tender requirement calls for the automatic disqualification of the non-compliant tender.”
The findings will see Jubilee awarded the multi-million shillings tender to provide inpatient, outpatient, and specialised medical service cover.

Britam had moved to the board challenging the award, arguing that the evaluation process was flawed and that the procuring entity failed to adhere to the requirements of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.

The insurer sought orders to nullify the award to Jubilee Health Insurance and compel the county to re-evaluate the bids or retender. It challenged the county’s decision to disqualify its tender as non-responsive at the preliminary stage.

However, in its ruling, the board held that Makueni County had acted within the law and followed the stipulated procurement procedures.

The board further observed that a procuring entity is entitled to select the bidder that best meets the technical and financial requirements of a tender, provided the process complies with the law.

The tribunal lifted interim orders that had temporarily halted the conclusion of the contract. This decision allows the county to proceed with awarding the health insurance cover with Jubilee Health Insurance.

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