Procurement watchdog taps ex-KRA manager to lead the agency

The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) has appointed a former Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) manager Patrick Kanyugo Wanjuki to lead the agency as director-general effective April 1, 2022.

Mr Wanjuki joins the country’s procurement watchdog from the KAA where he has been serving as the general manager in charge of procurement and logistics.

He is a supply chain management professional with over 20 years of experience in Government and the private sector.

He previously worked in senior procurement division positions at the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and the KRA.

“The board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Patrick Kanyugo Wanjuki to the position of director-general, PPRA with effect from April 1 April 2022,” said PPRA board chairman Andrew Musangi in an internal memo dated March 1 to the agency’s staff seen by Business Daily.

Mr Wanjuki replaces former long serving PPRA general manager Maurice Juma who exited the agency.

“The Board takes this opportunity to thank Ms Pauline Obonyo Opiyo for ably steering the PPRA ship during the transition,” said Mr Msangi.

Mr Msangi also announced the appointment of Mr Hennock Korosso Kirungu to the position of general manager, technical services with effect from March 1.

Mr Kirungu previously held a similar role at the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB)- another procurement watchdog.

Their appointments come at a time public procurement has been in a spot amidst the rise in the number of contested public contracts.

Rogue State employees have often been accused of manipulating the procurement law to inflate tender prices and line their pockets with huge sums of money in exchange for shady deals.

Documents relating to tender disputes before the PPARB have in the past shown that some crooked government officials collude with a cabal of tenderers to funnel lucrative government contracts to a select group of connected individuals, leaving in their wake protracted legal battles.

Mid-2018, Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua asked accounting officers in ministries, departments and agencies to consolidate and publish tenders’ information, on the 15th of every month.

The information on the portal should include the basis of awarding the tenders, parameters of assessment, names and details of tender committee members as well as the value of each contract.

But a report by the PPRA showed that most State agencies snubbed the directive during the 2019/2020 financial year where tenders worth Sh232.77 billion were published on online portal.

Nearly half of government ministries, departments and agencies were yet to comply with a directive to publish tender details on a designated public procurement website, at the time, undermining efforts to keep out shadowy contractors and curb corruption.