Nairobi MPs take on Kidero over lopsided e-pay bidding

JamboPay CEO Danson Muchemi (right) demonstrates to Nairobi County Governor Evans Kidero (left) and his Deputy Jonathan Mueke how an e-ticketing machine works, on July 24, 2014. The Auditor-General, Edward Ouko, said that there is no value addition using the JamboPay system. FILE PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Dr Kidero has accused Mr Mutura, his Embakasi West counterpart George Theuri and Kabete MP George Waititu — a former deputy mayor and former Embakasi MP — of playing petty politics.
  • During bidding, Webtribe had indicated that they were teamed by the Kenya Commercial Bank, but the bank refuted this. Bidders who were found not to have teamed up with a financial institution were disqualified.
  • Ms Benter Ogot, the ICT director at the county government, said that an analysis of the cost of collection in the previous system had put the figure at more than 15 per cent.

Revelations of irregularities in buying electronic system through which the Nairobi County Government collects revenue has sparked conflict between some Nairobi MPs and city Governor Evans Kidero.

The report by the auditor-general, tabled in the County Assembly at the end of July, has revealed that the system was procured without a proper plan, the tender committee ignored discrepancies in the information provided by the winning bidder, and the firm that won is the most expensive.

Makadara MP Benson Mutura and other MPs will be asking the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to look into the matter.

Dr Kidero has accused Mr Mutura, his Embakasi West counterpart George Theuri and Kabete MP George Waititu — a former deputy mayor and former Embakasi MP — of playing petty politics.

“The electronic payment has led to enhanced revenue collection and increased accountability and transparency in tracking county revenue flows, leading to a reduction in corruption and loss of huge funds,” said Dr Kidero in a statement.

NO VALUE ADDITION
The contract for the electronic system by Webtribe Ltd was awarded at Sh23.2 million, with the firm then keeping 4.5 per cent of all revenue collected through JamboPay.

During bidding, Webtribe had indicated that they were teamed by the Kenya Commercial Bank, but the bank refuted this. Bidders who were found not to have teamed up with a financial institution were disqualified.

The auditors found that the two other companies that qualified to the financial evaluation —Virtual Mobile and Craftsilcon — had bid to charge 2.5 per cent of the transactions as the fee, the same rate the Kenya Revenue Authority would have charged had it been given the job.

From this, the auditor-general concluded that over the five years the contract will be in place, Nairobi County will lose Sh767.4 million, compared with what would have happened had the lower bidders been given the job.

“There is no value addition using the JamboPay system,” Mr Edward Ouko said in the report to be discussed by the county’s Public Accounts Committee.

CANCEL CONTRACT

“The county has ceded one of the greatest activity of revenue collection. No evidence has been presented to indicate that there will be additional revenue collected. Consequently, there is likely to be loss of revenue,” he added.

Mr Ouko argued that because Webtribe did not meet the criteria from the very start, it should have been disqualified, meaning the contract should be cancelled.

Ms Benter Ogot, the ICT director at the county government, said that an analysis of the cost of collection in the previous system had put the figure at more than 15 per cent.

The e-payment has dealt with this, she said.