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Now IEBC invites outsiders to polls kits tender team
A team set up by the electoral commission to conduct due diligence on a Kenyan firm for the award of a multi-billion-shilling biometric voter registration (BVR) tender is set to begin working Tuesday.
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chief executive James Oswago said the committee comprising independent institutions is ready to embark on the task.
“The team starts work on Tuesday next week,” said Mr Oswago in a short text message (SMS) on Friday. He did not say when it is likely to complete the evaluation.
Controversy over the procurement of the 9,750 kits at Sh3.9 billion had threatened to derail the elections process. The general elections are scheduled for March 4, 2012.
The commission has been embroiled in boardroom wars leading to the resignation of the tender evaluation committee that was headed by commission chief legal officer Praxedes Tororei.
The committee had awarded the contract to a South African firm, which bid Sh500 million higher than the lowest bidder from India.
Out of the four firms short-listed, the commission awarded the tender to Face Technologies of South Africa, which quoted Sh4.6 billion.
Africa Symphony of Kenya quoted Sh3.8 billion, OnTrack of Israel bid Sh8.2 billion and 4G Identity Solutions Pvt of India was the lowest at Sh3.7 billion.
Mr Oswago sent a dispatch to newsrooms that indicated that the Sh3.9 billion tender may go to Africa Symphony.
The new tender evaluation committee chaired by Immaculate Kassait declined to award the lowest bidder, 4G Identity Solutions Pvt, which bid Sh3.7 billion.
The decision not to award the lowest bidder is said to have been influenced by further scrutiny of two companies by the National Security Intelligence Service on their capacity to supply.
The new team will be required to conduct further due diligence on Africa Symphony with indications that the committee will travel to Asia to inspect a partnering company’s capacity to provide and man a fool-proof biometric finger print equipment for registering an estimated 19 million voters ahead of the general election.
Commission chairman Isaack Hassan expressed confidence that the deal will be struck within the remaining 34 days bid bond validity period.
It is expected that the due diligence and contract negotiations with Africa Symphony will be concluded within 14 days should there be no appeals by contract losers.
Meanwhile, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is preparing to announce dates for by-elections in Kajiado North, Ndhiwa and Kangema constituencies after Speaker Kenneth Marende issued writs to the commission last Friday.
“Writs for Kajiado North, Ndhiwa and Kangema have been released to IEBC,” the Clerk of the National Assembly Patrick Gichohi said in a statement.
The seats fell vacant after the deaths of Internal Security minister George Saitoti (Kajiado North) and his deputy Orwa Ojode (Ndhiwa) in a helicopter crash on June 10.
Environment minister John Michuki who died earlier represented Kangema.
