President Uhuru
Kenyatta’s laptop’s project suffered a humiliating blow after Judges George
Kimondo, George Odunga and Mumbi Ngugi on Wednesday said their ruling is meant
to "promote equity and cost effectiveness in the tendering process."
The tender was meant
for the supply of 1.3 million laptops to Class One pupils in public schools and
is one of the Jubilee government’s pet projects.
The dispute started
when the public procurement board cancelled the contract awarded to Indian firm
Olive Telecommunications PVT Ltd on the grounds that the company did not meet
the financial requirement set in the tender document and was not an original
equipment manufacturer.
The review board then gave
the government 45 days within which to re-evaluate bids by computer firms HPU
of the Netherlands and Haier of China and award a new supply tender.
The ministry had
awarded the tender to Olive at a cost of Kshs 24.6 billion, which the board
found was Kshs 1.4 billion more than the price quoted by the winning bidder
before negotiations with the ministry.
Olive Communications
Ltd (OTL) went to court seeking judicial review of the decision to cancel the
laptop tender and its subsequent exclusion from a new bidding process.
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