Kebs locks lucrative vehicle inspection tender to selected bidders
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) has yet again locked a multibillion-shilling motor vehicle inspection tender to a group of preferred bidders, months after opting to limit the number of firms that can bid for another lucrative contract for inspection of consumer goods.
The move is likely to court fresh controversy that has previously dogged the lucrative deal forcing the standards regulator to reissue it.
Disputes on restricted tenders are among the dominant cases filed with the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB). Kebs has previously been caught in such disputes.
In an internal document seen by the Sunday Nation, Kebs said it would pick limited companies for the motor vehicles inspection tender that also involves inspection of spare parts and mobile equipment.
Unlike an open tendering method, Kebs restricts the number of bidders to a specific list of suppliers.
Kebs has consequently asked firms to present their bids for the tender to inspect the imported vehicles.
Limited number of bidders
"The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) intends to procure tender for the provision of pre-export verification of conformity (PVOC) to standard services – for used motor vehicles, mobile equipment, and spare parts through restricted tender," said an internal document signed by the Kebs chief manager in-charge of the supply chain.
Kebs said the tender document was published on November 24 to a limited number of bidders.
The managing director of the standards’ agency, Mr Bernard Njiraini, did not respond to enquiries about the decision to opt for a closed tender.
Over the years, the tenders for pre-export verification of motor vehicles and other goods destined for Kenya have often attracted intense bidder rivalry because of the fees that successful companies charge to do the job.
A winner of the tender generates revenues of nearly Sh1.5 billion a year for the three-year contract.
It costs between Sh16,895 and Sh24,525 for inspection of an imported vehicle depending on the country it is being brought from.
Some 177,744 units of new and used motor vehicles were imported into the country in the last two years, meaning the inspection firms earned at least Sh3 billion from the tender.
Restriction of tendering
Under the law, a procuring entity may use restricted tendering because the "complex or specialised nature of the goods, works or services" is limited to pre-qualified contractors.
Additionally, it may opt for the restriction of tendering if the time and cost required to examine and evaluate a large number of bids would be disproportionate to the value of the goods, works or services to be procured; and also if there is only a few known suppliers of the goods, works or services as may be prescribed in the regulations.
An earlier search in 2020 by Kebs for a firm to inspect goods attracted about 16 bidders in a tender process that that ended at the PPARB.
The High Court however allowed the award of the tender after it dismissed a case filed by a company based in Turkey, TUV Austria Turk, which had challenged the process arguing that it was treated unfairly.
In the decision, Justice John Mativo said it was inconceivable how the company, which admitted having not complied with the bid terms would expect PARB, to allow its request.
“Allowing the request for review on the face of the glaring omission to provide tender security is an open invitation to the review board to throw out of the window the tenets of fairness provided under Article 227 by subjecting the applicant’s tender to different terms other than those in the bid documents thereby according it preferential treatment different from the one accorded to the other bidders,” the judge said in a ruling in August 2020.
In August this year, Kebs floated another tender for PVOC but restricted to some select bidders. BY DAILY NATION
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