State department for housing on the spot over flawed Sh2.1 billion tender award
Jasir was selected despite its bid documents containing significant errors and alterations, while its competitor, Jijenge Precast & Construction Limited, was disqualified for similar discrepancies.
A recent review by the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board has put the State Department for Housing and Urban Development in the spotlight over a Sh2.1 billion Loitoktok affordable housing tender.
The board found that the department failed to uphold fairness and transparency in the procurement process, accusing it of giving undue advantage to Jasir Contractors Limited, which had been declared the successful bidder for the project.
Jasir was selected despite its bid documents containing significant errors and alterations, while its competitor, Jijenge Precast & Construction Limited, was disqualified for similar discrepancies.
“The tender evaluation committee disqualified Jijenge based on modifications and inconsistencies in the Bill of Quantities (BoQ), yet the successful bidder exhibited multiple discrepancies, including omissions/alterations and inconsistencies in unit rates in its BoQ,” the board said.
The tender was for the proposed construction of 1,000 affordable housing units and associated infrastructure in Loitoktok, Kajiado South Constituency, Kajiado County. Jasir had emerged as the lowest bidder at Sh2.1 billion.
The board has now cancelled the State Department’s intention to issue the contract to Jasir and ordered a re-evaluation of Jijenge’s bid. The re-evaluation must consider the board’s findings and be completed within 21 days.
“The successful bidder had multiple inconsistencies in rate uniformity and glaring alterations on its bid. Despite the discrepancies, the procuring entity found the successful bidder responsive while disqualifying the applicant for similar or lesser deviations,” the board said in its ruling on an application filed by Jijenge.
It added that according to the evaluation criteria, completeness of the BoQ without any alterations was a key requirement.
The board further observed that the evaluation committee’s report failed to justify why Jasir’s errors, omissions and inconsistencies were overlooked, while Jijenge’s bid was deemed non-responsive for lesser issues.
Jijenge told the board that its bid was Sh60 million more than that of Jasir, arguing that its disqualification was unfair given the more glaring issues in Jasir’s documents.
In its defence, the State Department maintained that it had strictly followed the evaluation criteria outlined in the tender documents. It stated that Jijenge was disqualified for non-compliance with the requirement for a complete and unaltered Bill of Quantities.
It also argued that there was no prejudice in the assessment of Jijenge’s bid. But the board countered this, noting that Jasir’s bid had rate inconsistencies and alterations in the BoQ, including cases where the rates for the same line item differed across pages, contrary to financial evaluation requirements.
Following the board’s directive, the State Department is now required to conduct a fresh financial evaluation of Jijenge’s bid before proceeding with the award process.
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