China firm contests Sh700m tender to furnish MPs offices

A Chinese firm is locked in a tendering dispute with the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) over the Sh700 million deal to furnish MPs' offices amid allegations that the winning bidder forged documents.

China Jiangxi International Kenya has petitioned the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) to block the award of the tender to local firm Nightingale Enterprises Ltd citing breach of laws.

The local firm is alleged to have submitted irregular bank statements, provided referee companies that were related to it, quoted works it never performed, and listed an architecture firm not registered in Kenya, documents filed before the review board show.

The Chinese firm reckons the PSC did not do adequate background check on Nightingale Enterprises as demanded by law.

Nightingale Enterprises had bid Sh665.1 million while China Jiangxi’s offer was Sh699.6 million for the interior fitting of the 26- storey building, which is being built by the Chinese firm for Sh6 billion.

“The procuring entity has acted in contravention of the law…as it awarded the tender to a bidder which did not submit a tender proposal that conformed to all eligibility and mandatory requirements,” said Jiangxi International through its lawyer.

“The procuring entity be compelled to conduct a proper due diligence on Nightingale Enterprises strictly in accordance with the criteria set out in the tender.”

The PSC has, however, denied the tender did not meet the set criteria including authentic bank details, adding that the Chinese firm has misunderstood the procurement procedure.

The commission says China Jiangxi took part in the tender but was unsuccessful because it submitted a higher bid compared with Nightingale Enterprises.

Separate documents, filed by a whistleblower through lawyer Munyalo Muli before the board, questioned the authenticity of the bank statements provided by Nightingale Enterprises, adding that the firm did not undertake a multi-billion shilling contracts in Zambia it quoted to show its competence.

The firm is also said to have quoted independent referees that were related to it.

“A search at e-Citizen platform reveals that those companies share the same postal address as Nightingale Enterprises and therefore could not credibly verify the worthiness of the alleged successful bidder,” said Mr Muli.

The lawyer also said Nightingale lined up an architectural firm – Octa Architects — that doesn’t appear among firms licensed to operate in Kenya by the Board of registration of Architects and Quantity Surveyors.

The 26-storey office block is expected to accommodate MPs who have no offices and the expanded number of staff.

The PSC is spending millions of shillings to hire offices for MPs and Senators who did not secure space at Parliament Buildings.