How to get a slice of Sh205bn tender pie

When former president Mwai Kibaki announced in 2012 that 10 per cent of the value of all government contracts should be allocated to the youth, Francis Mureithi, a Nairobi-based businessman moved with speed to exploit the opportunity.

The policy directive of Mr Kibaki’s government was aimed at tackling spiralling levels of youth unemployment in Kenya.

In a company he had formed with a friend, Mr Mureithi applied for a tender to supply attire to be used by government officials at a national event. The deal earned himself over Sh300,000.

Later, last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed that procurement rules should be amended to apportion 30 per cent of government contracts to the youth, women and persons with disabilities (PWDs) without competition from international firms.

TRAINING THE YOUTH

Government says at least Sh205 billion worth of contact are up for grabs, but decry the lack interest and awareness from the youth for the disappointing no show in tendering for the contracts.

A spot check by Money, however, shows that many young people are not taking advantage of the opportunities created by the new government directive largely because of inadequate information and lack of patience to walk through the tendering red tape.

Mr Mureithi partly puts the blame to the poor documentation and quotation by youth-run enterprises when applying for the contracts. He says that a lot of youth do not stick within stipulated price guides of specific contracts. They either over-price or grossly undercharge the government. This makes them ineligible.

This has, however, changed with the new government imitative to conduct tendering through online platforms.

This allows everyone to get access of government tenders irrespective of their location in the country.

The government’s financial platform, Integrated Financial Management Information System, (IFMIS) has made this process easy.

And with implementation of electronic procurement program, the IFMIS has made it possible for the applicant to apply tender online and track the process, a strategy that is injecting transparency.

IFMIS has thus become a source of information to the suppliers and the public in general on matters relating to public procurement.

“What we have decided now is to offer training to the youth to enable them to be entrepreneurs,” National Association of Youth Enterprises chairman, Mr Brian Randieh said.

The Public Procurement Directorate, which is under the National Treasury, administers the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO).

TARGET GROUP

In order to access government procurement opportunities, the youth, must register a business enterprise as a sole proprietorship, partnership, a limited company or a co-operative.

At least 70 per cent of the membership of the registered entities must comprise of the youth and the outfits’ leadership must be 100 per cent youth, women and PWDS.

A PIN and tax compliance or tax exemption certificate from the Kenya Revenue Authority is also required.

The target group should also acquire requisite certifications from professional bodies and authorities such as the National Construction Authority, Insurance Regulatory Authority, Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya, the Law Society of Kenya, the National Council for Persons with Disability, the National Environmental Management Authority, the Energy Regulatory Commission and all other authorised bodies.

Finally, the target beneficiaries can access the website www.agpo.go.ke and register online or visit the county government headquarters to register their entities.