Under-18 IAAF athletics championship under threat

Kenya’s preparations for the IAAF World Under-18 Championships have been jolted after the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board temporarily stopped a crucial contract between Kenya and a Spanish sports equipment company.

The Spanish company was unilaterally awarded the tender by the Local Organising Committee for the championships, forcing one of the firms that had initially tendered for the same tender to seek redress at the board.

Mondo Iberica of Spain was set to lay tartan track at three venues that will host the championships to be held in July. The three venues include the main Safaricom Kasarani Stadium, its warm-up track and the Kenyatta University track field.

“The board hereby suspends the implementation of the contract allegedly signed between the Local Organising Committee and the Spanish company Mondo Iberica, until the matter before it is heard and determined,” said the Review Board Chairman Maurice Juma in a ruling delivered on Thursday.

The ruling, though temporary, throws into jeopardy one of the world’s most prestigious athletics events with only four months to go.

In its suit papers filed at the board, Comnette Technologies Limited states that the Local Organising Committee, whose patron is First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, broke procurement laws and the only remedy is to cancel the contract awarded to the Spanish firm.

LAST YEAR

The local firm argues that it applied for the tender on December 16 last year.

It further states that the tender evaluation committee met in January this year but there was no word on which firm had been awarded the tender though its bid was the lowest.

“On or around the month of January 2017, the Tender Evaluation Committee met and, to the applicant’s knowledge, Comnette Technologies was the lowest responsive evaluated tenderer and was only awaiting the letter of award. On or around February 7 after the lapse of 30 days without communication from the procuring entity,the applicant wrote to Local Organising Committee, inquiring on the outcome of the tender. On or around February 16, the applicant received a letter from Local Organising Committee, which letter is dated January 20 and posted on February 7 notifying it that it had terminated the procurement procedures,” states Comnette.

Unknown to it, the LOC chief executive Mwangi Muthee had written to the director of the General Public Procurement Regulatory Authority seeking advice on the application of direct procurement for artificial tartan tracks.

Mr Muthee informed the authority that the companies that had bid had quoted prices higher than the market prices, forcing him to cancel the tender.

ONE MANUFACTURER

He further said that the bidding companies had all quoted one manufacturer, Mondo Iberica from Spain, which he wished to have direct procurement with.

Mr Muthee said the LOC had done due diligence and found that Mondo could take up the job for Sh173.6 million, less than the Sh290.6 million quoted by Comnette.

But in its response to the LOC dated February 13, the authority took issue with Mr Muthee’s decision to cancel the tender against the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015.

It stated that the law requires the “procuring entity to submit a report on the termination including the reasons for termination to this authority within 14 days of the termination and that the entity should notify all persons who submitted tenders of the termination.” It went on to state that such documents had not been made available.

It further pointed out that although the local company’s quotations had included all expenses it would incur, the price quoted by Mondo did not include such details.

Mondo only covered the freight charges up to the port of Mombasa.

“The authority further wondered why the LOC was contemplating doing a direct tender without a solid backing of the provisions of the law. Direct procurement is done in extra-ordinary circumstances which include emergency situations.”

The board in its ruling on Thursday relied on the grounds raised by Comnette Technologies to reverse the award of the contract.

The board’s chairman, Maurice Juma, directed LOC to file its defence by Tuesday pending hearing three days later.