Sky team’s fresh bid to influence Sh 2.7 billion Kebs tender

A rogue political cartel in the Jubilee administration has led to a baffling change in the tender requirements for a Sh2.7 billion deal to inspect vehicles before they are imported into the country.

Well-placed sources within the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) said they were forced to amend the rules to drop marks that would be earned for having zero incidents of clearing overage vehicles to propel some of the companies associated with powerful people in Jubilee called –The Sky team – whose firms are associated with clearance of overage and radiation infected motor vehicles to get a chance to clinch the tender.

The sky team is said to have invaded the Numerical Machining Complex Limited (NMC), a government parastatal, and sought to have a Sh9 million tender that has already been awarded. The team wants the tender cancelled and awarded to another contractor who had quoted Sh21 million to do the same works.

The NMC contract was awarded on July 22, but the contractor has never commenced the said works because of what he termed as ‘too much political interference.’

In the initial Kebs tender, for pre?export inspection of used motor vehicles in Japan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and South Africa, a copy of which we obtained, there were penalties for firms that had a history of importing vehicles older than eight years, and those that bring in vehicles contaminated with radioacive materials.

But this move was meant to shield firms that have faced allegations of importing illegal cars and which are also jostling for the contract from losing at least 8 crucial marks.

To qualify for the tender, the firms had to have a clean sheet on importation of overage vehicles, no record of bringing in contaminated vehicles, and they also had to have a risk management system. They would lose three marks for importing old vehicles, five for importing contaminated ones, and four marks for failing to show that they have a working risk management system.

But the source said, the sky team cartel – comprising of three prominent politicians who wield immense power and influence in the top echelons of the Jubilee administration – had protested to the management at Kebs and a section of board members overtly through a proxy.

“It would appear that the inclusion of this technical scoring proposal may inadvertently benefit inspectorates that have never inspected for the Kenya Bureau of Standards (and as such have no comparative data to assess them on) versus those that have to date been inspecting for Kenya Bureau of Standards,” the query by one of the bidders on the tender to Kebs read.

It is understood that some of the players in the industry saw Kebs as trying to rig in two well-connected bidders for the billions. So complicated is the process that senior officials who spoke to us and who cannot be quoted because of the sensitivity of the matter said they no longer know what to do because ‘decisions can change any time.

The Standard on Saturday asked Kebs to explain the change, but by the time of filing this story, the emails had not been answered, even though their communication department acknowledged receiving our queries.
Contacted over the issue, Kebs chairman Lucas Maitha said he had no knowledge of outside pressure by the political cartel.

“Issues of tendering and procurement are done by the management team. They came to us for a go ahead to put the tender out, and we gave that permission. We don’t venture into their territory” said Maitha in a phone interview yesterday.

Kebs had blacklisted one of the companies that had been doing pre-shipment inspection of motor vehicles following damning allegations of clearing overage motor vehicles. Kebs did not disclose whether or not the ban had been lifted. Similarly, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission indicated a fortnight ago that it was still investigating some companies that Kebs had hired to carry out the said inspection for clearing vehicles infected with radiation material and others that are over age.

It is believed that the push for change of this requirement was necessitated after the cartels felt that the companies they were pitching for had little chance of success because they have a history of clearance of over age cars and some infected with radiation material.

Operations by the Sky team appear to have angered many parastatal chiefs and business executives forcing them to report these interference to Harambee House.

Credible sources at Harambee House said the interference at Kebs is one of the matters reported.
President Kenyatta’s chief political advisor Nancy Gitau revealed to The Standard on Saturday how the so called ‘sky team’ has been frustrating legitimate business operations by overturning procurement decisions.

Ms Gitau said the clique, working in cahoots with some well-connected brokers, has been frustrating straight and transparent business transactions by making calls to overturn procurement decisions.
She said that she had so far received numerous complaints from various categories of business people expressing their frustration.

“Local businessmen including your key government supporters are complaining of political interference in procurement processes. That calls are made are made to overturn decisions to favour one side of the coalition,” Ms Gitau said quoting an anonymous complainant who had fallen prey to the sky team.

On the Sky team TNA chairman and nominated MP Sakaja Johnson said: “We shall not allow a small group of a few people from any quarter to slow down the implementation of the Jubilee manifesto. Whoever is in this ‘sky team’, whoever they are, should be aware that the government will deal with them. Government will not entertain corruption at all.”