Free laptops tender cancelled

The tender for the supply of laptops for schools has been cancelled after shortlisted bidders overpriced the gadgets, surpassing the project’s budget by Sh20 billion.

(VIDEO: Govt cancels laptop tender)

Education Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi Thursday said that three out of 20 bidders met the technical specifications for the tender but quoted astronomical figures.

The cancellation of the tender casts doubts on the delivery of the laptops, which were to be given to children joining Standard One in public schools next year. Providing the free laptops was one of the pledges that the Jubilee Coalition made to voters ahead of the March 4 General Election.

Addressing a press conference in Nairobi yesterday, Prof Kaimenyi said the lowest bidder had quoted almost three times the amount budgeted for and the government had no choice but to cancel the tender in accordance to the provisions of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2005.

“The lowest bidder quoted a price of Sh32 billion against an anticipated budget of Sh12 billion, creating a deficit of Sh20 billion,” he said. “We, therefore, found it prudent to terminate the bids; they do not give us value for our money.”

Out of 126 firms which had submitted bid documents, 20 returned the bids but only three met the technical specifications.

The bids were officially opened on September 10.

HP Commercial was the lowest bidder quoting Sh32 billion, with a unit price of Sh23,000 which is almost double what the government had budgeted for. A Chinese company, Huawei PTE Ltd, was the highest, quoting Sh60.5 billion.

Others were Samsung Electronics (Sh39.1 billion), Symphony Technologies (Sh38 billion), Haier Technologies (Sh34 billion), ZTE Corporation (Sh33 billion) and Telcom Kenya (Sh32 billion).
The minister, however, declined to reveal the identity of the three firms that had been shortlisted.

He said the specifications given by some of the bidders were higher than the initial ones given by Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development.

In the run-up to the elections, the Jubilee Coalition committed to provide solar-powered laptops to all children joining Standard One in January. The idea was to expose Kenyan children to technology early with a view to nurturing a knowledge-based society.

Yesterday, Mr Kaimenyi said the project was facing serious hitches but remained upbeat that the promise would still be honoured. He did not rule out collusion among the bidders.

“We know the urgency of this matter but now we are faced with the actual reality as dictated by market factors and the high market rates as indicated in the quotations. However, the procurement proceedings must ensure economy, efficiency, transparency and accountability,” he said.

Admitting that the ministry may have overlooked some important factors in the procurement process such as transport, storage, insurance and security costs, he said consultations would begin as early as Monday to find solutions by December.

The tender bid ranged between Sh23,000 to Sh28 000 per laptop against the anticipated budget of Sh15,000 per laptop. The government needs to procure about 1.3 million laptops, 20,367 printers and an equal number of projectors by January if it is to fulfil its pledge to the electorate.

After consultations, the ministry will decide whether to vary its budget, to proceed with the project in the same capacity as previously planned or to trim quantities and scale down on quality. The project is to be rolled out in three phases at a total cost of about Sh50 billion.

The government will be spending Sh17.4 billion annually in the next three years to buy 1.35 million laptops each year, develop digital content, train teachers and build computer laboratories for Standard Four to Standard Eight in all schools throughout the country.

Given the time constraint, the government could be forced to resort to direct procurement of the computing machines.