President Kenyatta cancels Sh288bn tenders for flouting rule

President Uhuru Kenyatta has cancelled tenders worth Sh288 billion and threatened to sack 11 principal secretaries whose ministries and departments failed to use the government e-procurement system.

Heads of 20 ministries, state departments and agencies were given seven days to explain their decision to purchase goods and services worth Sh32.8 billion outside the e-procurement system, failure to which they will be sacked and prosecuted.

Sources told the Nation the tenders were suspected to have been procured corruptly, prompting the President to crack the whip.

Also cautioned are heads of six constitutional commissions, the Auditor-General’s office, the Attorney-General’s chambers and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) that were accused of operating outside the electronic system.

The e-procurement system is a component of a unified government financial system — the Integrated Financial Management Information System — that was adopted in 1995 as the sole accounting system for public expenditure.

A circular signed by Head of Civil Service Joseph Kinyua accused the PSs, the heads of commissions, the Auditor-General’s office, the AG’s chambers and IPOA of ignoring the e-procurement guidelines, which were issued by National Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich on May 7.

Before that, a presidential executive order issued on March 6 had required all government procurement to be carried out in line with the system.

SHOW CAUSE

Mr Kinyua, in the circular dated May 22, gave the officials seven days from that date to “show cause in writing to the undersigned as to why your designation as an accounting officer should not be withdrawn and disciplinary action” taken against them in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act.

He termed the failure to comply with the system a “fragrant disregard for institutionalised best practice procedures for the management of public finances”.

Sources close to the Presidency said a firm decision to fight corruption in government had been taken and the President and his deputy would not be blackmailed politically to let some officers off the hook.

The affected are the ministries of Energy and Petroleum, Health, Labour and Social Services, Industrialisation, departments of Education, Higher Education and Technology, Transport, Infrastructure, Agriculture and Water, and Regional Authorities.

The Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), National Land Commission, Kenya National Human Rights Commission, the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC), the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Commission for Revenue Allocation were also put on notice.

Documents seen by the Nation indicate that the policing watchdog, the Auditor-General’s office, the PSC, the Land commission, the state human rights watchdog, the CIC, the Ethics commission and the State Department of Water and Regional Authorities totally failed to comply with the e-procurement requirement. The rest range between 0.46 and 6.69 per cent compliance.

Mr Rotich gave national and county accounting officers two weeks to comply with the e-procurement requirements, warning that those who failed to do so would be sacked and prosecuted.