This archive report was first published on 4 August 2020.
On July 17, 2020, a Bill aimed at reforming the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act was tabled in Parliament. The proposed changes seek to address the imbalance between local and foreign contractors in accessing State contracts.
According to the Bill, government entities will be required to split tenders into multiple contracts to be awarded to different companies. This move is aimed at spreading risk and allowing more bidders to benefit from the tender process.
Additionally, the Bill proposes to restrict the contract price within a 15 per cent range of the 'engineers estimate' to prevent firms from quoting unrealistically low prices and then varying the contract price upwards.
Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina, the sponsor of the Bill, explained that the changes are intended to 'spread the risk among many companies and also to allow as many companies as possible to benefit from the tender.'
The Bill also seeks to raise the 'exclusive preference' in tenders for locals from Sh500 million to Sh1 billion and requires the State and counties to settle payments to successful bidders through bank guarantees to avoid late payments for contractors.
International tenders must also source 60 per cent of their supplies locally.
