Chinese firm loses Sh9 billion tender case, again

Nairobi, Kenya: A Chinese company has lost a second attempt to have a Sh9 billion police communication tender reinstated to it by the Interior ministry.

High Court judge George Odunga threw out an application by ZTE Corporation which had sought to overturn the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board's verdict to uphold a decision by the Interior Cabinet Secretary to cancel the tender awarded to the company.

The judge observed that the board had upheld the cancellation of the tender after it emerged that ZTE had inflated the price by over 100 per cent and that maintenance would cost taxpayers Sh1 billion annually.

In his judgement yesterday, the judge said ZTE's application had no merit as the company had failed to prove that the CS had flouted the Constitution in annulling the tender.

Odunga added that the law had put in place a mechanism and process of resolving disputes arising out of public procurement issues in order to build confidence in the people on the use of their taxes.

"The High Court cannot take up the duties of the Court of Appeal by re-evaluating the merits of the determination," said the judge. "Adjudication of disputes is a constitutional mandate of the court. However, the review board is mandated by law to resolve tender disputes."

The board had ruled that it was against the promotion of the principles of integrity, fairness, transparency and accountability to award a tender where the tender price was increased by 106 per cent due to the overpricing of items.

Huawei Technologies Africa Limited and AVIC International Holding unsuccessfully bid for the project.