Sh6.7bn NSSF tender awarded irregularly

The contract to put up the 40-storey Hazina Towers at Sh6.7 billion at the expense of the National Social Security was awarded to a Chinese firm irregularly, the authority that scrutinises tenders has said.

Public Procurement Oversight Authority boss Maurice Juma told the Public Investments Committee that NSSF officers, who handled the procurement, should face action for a series of irregularities.

Mr Juma said that by the time PPOA was asked to examine the tender, the contract had already been signed with China Jiangxi International Company.

“There were fundamental breaches of procurement law. There was imminent loss of public funds,” said Mr Juma.

The PPOA director-deneral said public entities are in the habit of rushing to seek the advice of the authority when they have already gone so far into procurement that turning back is impossible.

He told PIC that the tender committee did not carry out a financial evaluation of the project and two of the three firms that presented their bids did not submit certificates of incorporation and should therefore not have been considered.

ARITHMETICAL ERRORS

NSSF also failed to correct arithmetical errors in the bid by the successful company and some Bills of Quantities had been repeated in the tender submissions, meaning the cost had increased irregularly.

He said the procurement law had weaknesses such as the lack of sanctions for those who breach it and what to do when contracts are awarded illegally.

“The contract was a nullity. This is consistent with what the other firms that bid for the contract have been telling us,” said PIC chairman Adan Keynan.