President Uhuru Kenyatta warns officers over award of irregular tenders

Devolution Cabinet Secretary Ann Waiguru presents a trophy to President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House; Nairobi. The trophy was awarded to Huduma Kenya after it was declared the 2015 winner of the African Association of Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) gold medal on Innovative Management in Africa. [PHOTO.FIDELIS KABUNYI/STANDARD]

NAIROBI: President Uhuru Kenyatta has sent a stern warning to government officials awarding tenders without following the due process, saying such trends will not be tolerated.

President Kenyatta said Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and chief executives of parastatals under whose watch tenders are issued under unclear circumstances, will be brought to book.

He ordered all sections of the Government to immediately adopt the e-procurement platform so that the public can see that all procurement rules have been adhered to before a public contract is awarded.

“We have made it very clear to them that we expect within the shortest possible time all issues of procurement must be on the e-procurement platform so that every single citizen in Kenya can see whether a tender was done transparently, whether it was done correctly, who was awarded and why and who the other competitors are,” he said at State House, Nairobi, yesterday.

He added: “There are no sacred cows in this Government and anyone who does not abide by the law will be personally held responsible.”

He said senior public officials should realise that the days when public servants viewed their offices as avenues for personal benefit are long gone.

He pointed out that Government will further hold anti-corruption bodies accountable if they fail to act as an indication of Government’s seriousness in dealing with corrupt practices.

President Kenyatta spoke at time when several suspects have been arraigned in court in connection with the infamous Anglo Leasing scandal.

“I have no right to call a CS, PS or a chief executive to tell them to award a contract to a particular individual. There is a process,” he said.

“Everybody must know if you hold an office you must do things in accordance with the law and not in accordance to pressure from those calling you. You will be held accountable,” the President added.

The President spoke when he was presented with a gold medal awarded to Kenya for innovative management in Africa in Morocco this week.