Auditor General flags Kenya Power for missing 30 per cent tender quota for youth, women, and PWDs
Kenya Power disclosed that the value of tenders awarded to these groups jumped 470 per cent to Sh3.5 billion during the year as the firm stepped up efforts to meet the constitutional requirement.
Despite awarding Sh3.5 billion in contracts to youth, women and persons with disabilities, Kenya Power allocated only 11 per cent of its procurement budget to marginalised groups in the year ended June 2025.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, in her recent report, noted that the firm fell short of the constitutional 30 per cent requirement under the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) programme.
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“Review of the company’s approved procurement plan for the year under review revealed that only 11 per cent of the procurement budget was reserved for disadvantaged groups,” Gathungu said.
Kenya Power disclosed that the value of tenders awarded to these groups jumped 470 per cent to Sh3.5 billion during the year as the firm stepped up efforts to meet the constitutional requirement.
The Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, requires State corporations to allocate 30 per cent of their tenders to youth, women and persons with disabilities under AGPO, a programme launched more than a decade ago to provide economic affirmative action. Agpo typically targets contracts that are not highly technical, such as the supply of common-user items and basic services, which means the groups miss out in any year when a State agency focuses on highly technical projects.
Of the Sh3.5 billion in AGPO deals, youth-owned businesses received Sh2.2 billion, women-owned businesses Sh1.25 billion and businesses owned by persons with disabilities Sh66.7 million.
Kenya Power is among the State-owned firms audited for Agpo compliance. Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) reported awarding Sh2.23 billion in Agpo tenders against a target of Sh2.57 billion in the year ended June 2025.
The utility has said it intends not only to maintain compliance but also to scale up support mechanisms to increase the competitiveness of marginalised groups.
John Ngeno, General Manager for Supply Chain and Logistics, announced that the company will intensify training and sensitisation forums and offer step-by-step guidance on bidding processes and gathering feedback to address barriers that persons with disabilities, in particular, continue to face.
The utility also plans to strengthen partnerships with financial institutions to help suppliers secure funding and improve their participation in procurement cycles. Internally, Kenya Power said it will push all departments to allocate common-user items to Agpo suppliers and ensure faster payment cycles to improve liquidity for the small businesses involved.
The company said the reforms are part of a broader strategy to entrench inclusive and sustainable procurement practices across its operations.
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