Govt signs Sh6bn voter kits deal
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chief Isaack Hassan. The contract, which was countersigned by the IEBC, brought to an end the anxiety that had been building up over the BVR kits. Photo/FILE/
What you need to know:
- Sources close to the deal said the government signed a contract with Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) for a Sh6 billion loan to finance the acquisition of 15,000 biometric voter registration kits.
- CCC went on to pen a deal with French firm Safrna Morpho which will supply the kits, giving hope to Kenyans that the March 4, 2013 election date will be a reality.
- The contract brought to an end the anxiety that had been building up over the BVR kits which had earlier in the day seen Attorney-General Githu Muigai and the elections team being summoned.
The electronic voter registration equipment saga appears to have come to an end after a deal was signed with a Canadian firm on Monday night.
Sources close to the deal said the government signed a contract with Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) for a Sh6 billion loan to finance the acquisition of 15,000 biometric voter registration kits.
CCC went on to pen a deal with French firm Safrna Morpho which will supply the kits, giving hope to Kenyans that the March 4, 2013 election date will be a reality.
The contract, which was countersigned by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), brought to an end the anxiety that had been building up over the BVR kits which had earlier in the day seen Attorney-General Githu Muigai and the elections team being summoned by the Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee.
Went to court
The summons were prompted by reports that neither the government nor IEBC were willing to sign the deal mandating a French firm to supply the kits.
The acquisition of the kits assumed a fresh turn after an activist went to court questioning the integrity of Safran Morpho, the French firm which has been given the tender. (READ: Ballot kits firm fined Sh52m for bribing officials)
CIOC chairman Abdikadir Mohamed on Monday confirmed his team had summoned Prof Githu and the IEBC.
“We have called for a meeting with the IEBC and the AG tomorrow (today) on why they have not signed a formal contract for the kits,” he said.
The summons come a day after the Nation revealed that Prof Muigai had written to the government committee on procurement of the BVR kits, raising legal issues over the process.
On Monday, Mr Abdikadir said the government had responded to the AG’s questions.
“The government has acquired a Sh6 billion concessional loan from Canada to procure 15,000 Biometric Voter Registration kits to be used in listing 18 million voters for the 2013 General Election,’ he said.
