Passaris' NGAAF-funded safe house project rocked by tender wars

Nairobi Women Rep Esther Passaris. [File, Standard] Questions have emerged over the tendering of a women's project under the Nairobi National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF). The project dubbed, Safe House, according to the tender documents seen by The Standard, falls under Nairobi Women Rep Esther Passaris. The facility, whose construction of Phase One started in 2022 is being supervised by the Nairobi Regional Works office and is meant to house survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Nairobi County. It is one of the measures that the government is undertaking to fight and eliminate all forms of gender-based violence. NGAAF last week called for bids for contractors to undertake completion of the project under Phase Two. "Completed tender documents in plain sealed envelopes should be deposited in the tender box situated at Nyayo House, 8th-floor, door 14, Northern Wing of the main building so as to be received on or before June 4, 2024," reads the document on the NGAAF portal. It is however emerging that works and items already procured, delivered or completed under Phase One have been retendered under Phase Two. A scan through the tender document, which is available on the Fund's website, shows that some of the materials tendered for Phase One had been included in the tender document for Phase Two, without an addendum. The details emerged on Tuesday during a site visit attended by several contractors, representatives of the Regional Works office and staff of the Fund. Contractors who attended the meeting said that while on site, they pointed out several flaws in the tender document which were dismissed by the Regional Public Works officials. Nairobi Women Rep Esther Passaris and Gender CS Aisha Jumwa inspect the Safe House in August 2023. [Jenipher wachie, Standard] The public works office was represented by an Electrical Engineer and Quantity Surveyor. Contractors who attended the Tuesday site visit argued that after touring the structure, some of the works such as plastering of walls and beams that were already undertaken under Phase One are again being procured under Phase Two. During the site visit, the contractors also raised questions about why the number of eaves to be erected was not indicated. Eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall. They normally, project beyond the side of a building, forming an overhang to throw water clear of the walls. Contactors argued that these eaves are countable but in the tender document it was left open and indicated as 'sum.' This means that they are not quantifiable and leaves room for manipulation of costs as the specific quantity needed is not fixed. The contractors also noted that during the site tour, some items for internal power distribution which include consumer units for all three floors had already been fixed. However, the new tender documents have asked bidders to tender for the procurement of the same items. The contractors also said they noted that steel doors had already been fixed, but the tender document still asks bidders to tender for the same. "We asked the public works officials who attended the site visit about these items that are already fixed and are being retendered but they were so dismissive, raising questions about the intentions of public works officials who prepared the tender documents," said another contractor. "We are writing to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to probe why someone is pushing to award the contract which is already flawed. Why are they not doing an addendum to correct the mistakes? It stinks of a scheme that would see the taxpayer pay twice for some items and this calls for probe," said the contractor. The building for victims of sexual and gender-based violence is expected to host about 200 victims at a time as they recover. Another contractor said that the two public works officials who attended the meeting were dismissive of their inquiries. Nairobi Women Rep Esther Passaris and Gender CS Aisha Jumwa inspect the Safe House in August 2023. [Jenipher wachie, Standard] "Then why did they conduct site if our questions are dismissed? The whole thing seems crafted to favour one contractor. It reads like a script well calculated by some top officers at Nairobi Regional works to steal public resources through double tendering." The government had earlier this year stated that it plans to build 17 safe houses to support victims of sexual and gender-based violence. Public Service, Gender, and Affirmative Action Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aisha Jumwa said the safe houses would offer a safe space for victims especially women as they recovered and sought legal recourse. She noted that while there are about 50 safe houses in the country, only three are owned by the government, which limits the options available to victims. "NGAAF is one of the remedies that the government is offering, but we are also working with development partners to ensure that this project is completed," Jumwa said. She noted that the project to build 17 additional safe houses was essential due to the rising number of cases of sexual and gender-based violence.

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