All is well, insists Prisons boss amid supplies crisis
Commissioner of Prisons Isaiah Osugo said there is no crisis at prisons’ enterprise. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Tender cancellation has seen officers and prisoners lack uniforms, food and utensils, among other essentials.
- PS Zeinab Hussein had been warned of the dangers of cancelling contracts mid-stream, but she insisted that her decision must stand.
Sources indicated that the crisis followed interference by family members of powerful Jubilee politicians who want to arm-twist the department to their advantage.
The supplies crisis at Kenya Prisons Department continues unabated even as the Ministry of Interior officials scrambled to come up with a quick-fix solution following PS Zeinab Hussein’s decision to cancel the annual tender process.
The department has been hit by lack of fuel and emergency drugs for prisoners, torn uniforms for warders and prisoners, dwindling food supplies, failure to give daily payments by officers and lack of crucial utensils.
COMPLIANCE
Last Friday, a meeting scheduled between the PS and prisons commanders to deliberate on the crisis did not take place as Ms Hussein was said to be engaged elsewhere.
Sunday Nation reached out to the ministry and a reply by the Commissioner of Prisoners Isaiah Osugo stated that all was well.
“The ministry is in full compliance of all procurement laws. There is no crisis at prisons’ enterprise. All operations are going on smoothly,” he stated in answers to our questions.
FLOUTING LAW
He added that he was not aware of the letter by the suppliers.
“Such a letter would be copied to me, I am not aware or in receipt of it,” he said.
At the centre of the storm is the decision by the Correctional Services Department to cancel award notifications given to suppliers by calling for new bidders for the same goods through a new advert, thereby flouting the Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2015.
CANCELLATION
Sources indicated that the crisis followed interference by family members of powerful Jubilee politicians who want to arm-twist the department to their advantage.
Documents in our possession show that Ms Hussein had been warned of the dangers of cancelling contracts mid-stream, but she insisted that her decision must stand.
Moreover, the PS’ efforts to have the Ministry of Transport’s Supplies Department to step in as a new tendering process went on hit a snag.
GUIDANCE
Ironically, this is not the first time the PS has stopped a tender process. When she was PS in the Ministry of Irrigation, she pulled a similar stunt exposing the ministry to a lawsuit, which suppliers won.
Last week, several aggrieved suppliers wrote to Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i seeking his guidance on the matter. He is yet to reply to their letter.
On July 26, barely a month after she had been appointed to the new position, Ms Hussein wrote an internal memo to the supply chain management and issued several far-reaching directives.
ELIGIBLE
“Forthwith there shall be no restricted tendering or direct tendering unless authorised by the accounting officer, and the tenders are hereby cancelled. All tenders in progress stand cancelled with immediate effect,” she wrote.
The PS had in an advert on October 23 called for eligible bidders for the years 2018 to 2020 tenders for various goods.
This was despite internal communications from the acting supply chain manager warning against the move.
NOTIFICATION
““Following our meetings on the above matter, and your instruction that the above tender be cancelled, I wish to bring your attention to sections 1(b) and 2 and 63 of the PPDA, 2015 respectively … The procurement process can only be cancelled before the issuance of notification of awards to the responsive bidders and in our case, the bidders had been notified and 14 days elapsed, hence it is as good as a contract signed.”
INSTRUCTIONS
“In retrospect, I am of the opinion that this process is beyond our cancellation since your predecessor (the former PS) approved the tender award and notifications issued cannot be retrieved,” added the supply chain department.
The PS in return stated that the Supplies Department of the Ministry of Transport would step in as the correctional services went through the process of getting new bidders.
But the supplies department stated that it could not take up the instructions prompting the PS to fire a memo to Commissioner of Prisons Isaiah Osugo on October 30, throwing him to far end of the muddled pool.
FOODSTUFF
“We write further to our letter Ref SDC /SEC/PROG/5/13 (v) dated 11th October, 2018 in which you were informed that you may procure foodstuff for the prisoners and trainees using the valid supplies branch contracts with effect 1 November.”
“We wish to inform you that there has been a delay in accessing contracts from supplies branch. In view of this and pending availability of the supplies branch contracts, the foodstuff may be procured using the current existing procurement method,” wrote one Margret Riungu on behalf of the PS.
IMPASSE
A group of suppliers have written to CS Matiangi with a view of ending the impasse that may eventually end up in court.
“Our client participated and won various tenders as listed above in a competitive procurement process and were awarded the various tenders …. The said awards were made more than five months ago, following which our clients have re-organised their businesses and have purchased some of the required items awaiting LPO's for purposes of deliveries. Many others have entered into financial commitments with various financial institutions following the said awards to enable them meet their obligation in the expected contracts,” wrote the suppliers through law firm of Dennis Anyoka Moturi and Company.
