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Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro is still haunted by the ghosts of a Sh 300 million tender fraud which he thought had been ‘controlled’ by his right hand men.
The governor is now under pressure after a lobby group wrote to the County Secretary seeking information related to two tenders for garbage collection.
The human rights watchdog group in a letter dated 28th August 2024 and received by the County Secretary a day later wants the county to clarify how the tendering process for the two tenders worth Sh 300 million was done.
The tenders in question are Tender No.CGK/MM/OT/027/2023/2024 for provision of garbage collection and disposal services for Malindi Town and its environs and tender number KCG/ WEFNR/1246119/2023/2024 for provision of garbage collection and disposal in Mtwapa town and its environs.
The matter initially surfaced at the county assembly but the relevant committee is said to have been told to ignore the matter.
However, the lobby group which is a non-profit organization acting as a watchdog and human rights defender. The organization is persuaded that the tendering process did not meet the required threshold.
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“Flowing from the aforementioned and in the course of our client’s day to day business, information critical and wanting of clarification following a myriad questions has since come to light,in regards to the captioned tenders,” the letter reads.
It is therefore seeking to be furnished by information detailing the invitation to tender as provided for under section 74 of the Public Procurement Asset and Disposal Act 2015, List of all the entities that tendered, tender opening minutes and head of procurement function advisory opinion on the said tenders.
Other information being sought by the group includes; copies of original bid documents supplied by tendering entities prove that the awarded companies were qualified for award, evaluation and tendering committee minutes in reference to the two tenders.
Lastly the group also wants to be supplied with the procurement plan, copies of performance bond and payment vouchers and inspection reports pertaining payments related to the tenders.
The county has been given an ultimatum of 14 days to deliver the information to the group’s lawyer.
“Take notice that should you fail to respond to our request within the next 14 days,our tacit institutions are to institute legal proceedings against you, with no further notice,”
The dubious tendering process
The two tenders were floated in the 2022/2023 Financial Year before being carried forward to 2023/2024 and the companies involved were poised to win the same tenders for 2024/2025 Financial Year.
This has been made possible by a deceptive move by the county to adopt a prequalification framework of two years, which means that business in the county is limited to a few malicious cartels that run from the revenue office, finance department, procurement desk and the office of the governor.
The tendering process is largely a pre-determined exercise in the county and the officers in respective or relevant offices care less.
The first tender CGK/ MM/OT/027/2023/2024 for Provision of Garbage Collection and Disposal in Malindi town is one classic example of how the county is walking scot free with untamed financial crimes.
In the 2022/2023 financial year the tender was awarded at ksh.35million but upon review by the same cartel, it was raised Sh83 Million. It was awarded to Jickram Investment which is notoriously known for controversies related to tenders.
The deadly cartel in this deal that is well known but let to MCAs but let scot free to rest reportedly shared the extra Sh 50million.
The garbage tender was under investigation by EACC following a public complaint that the company awarded does not have requisite documents and has no capacity and experience in garbage collection.
In the tender,Jickram Investment put up a bid of Sh 3,490,000, Binzin Supplies Ltd Sh 3,400,000, Masharubu Co.Ltd Sh,3,700,000 ,Lanahoran Investments Sh 3,698,000 and Vital Works Ltd whose bid amount was not documented.
All the above companies apart from Jickram have the capacity and experience in garbage collection in Coast Counties but were ignored.
This is the same case with tender number KCG/ WEFNR/1246119/2023/2024 for provision of garbage collection and disposal in Mtwapa town and its environs.
This is the tender that has also angered Mtwapa residents considering the huge presence of garbage in the area.
A prominent MP from Kilifi is surprisingly one of the beneficiaries with the grapevine on the ground revealing that he is getting ready for the gubernatorial seat in the future.
Bribery for silence
When the matter first surfaced in March 2024, Kilifi MCAs privy to it were allegedly compromised through bribes to drop the matter. The Assembly’s departmental committee for Environment has loudly been silent on it.
Both the EACC and the DCI are also said to have been compromised to let go of the matter that qualifies to be a serious crime that forms the basis for impeachment.
Garbage menace and looting strategy
Last year,the governor sacked the entire Malindi Municipal Board whose function was to oversee the affairs of the city or municipality, development and adoption of policies, plans, strategies and programmes, and formulation and implementation of integrated development plans as well as control land use.
The boards may also be required to collect rates, taxes, levies, duties, fees and surcharges on fees, promote a safe and healthy environment, and facilitate and regulate public transport.
This is after locals complained of stench emanating from garbage.
After sacking the board, Mung’aro forwarded a list of new board members to the county assembly for approval. The list includes Suleiman Omar who is expected to serve as acting board chairman, and Clara Mkambe, and Agnes Muturi, who will be members.
Little did the residents know that this was a well calculated move to change strategy and have specific companies get involved in garbage collection without distraction from the board.
Mung’aro’s audit struggles
The governor has not been the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu’s good books and has previously has flagged for irregular payments and procurement of material by the Kilifi County Government.
The 2022/2023 audit indicates that the county could not account for Kshs.177, 094,193 which was paid in respect of specialized materials and services and Kshs.298, 029,333 paid for construction of roads.
The county was also questioned over supply of seeds, the county paid Kshs.27, 777,000 paid out in respect of seeds, fertilizers, farm implements, chemicals and fungicides.
The audit revealed that the expenditure was not supported with proof of how the beneficiaries were identified, confirmation of ownership of land by the beneficiaries and evidence that the Department of Agriculture conducted tests to ascertain viability, quality and suitability of the fertilizer and pesticides for the soils and crops before procurement was done.
The county also failed to provide a duly signed needs assessment report, mandatory compliance documents such as valid tax compliance certificate, certificate of incorporation and signed 22 business questionnaires as set out in the evaluation criteria and evidence of public participation.
The audit also raised questions on how an amount of Kshs.62,000,000 was paid to Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) for medical supplies.
“Review of payment vouchers and other supporting documents revealed that the items purchased were not taken on charge vide counter receipt voucher (S13) contrary to Section 162(1) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015,”
The row over supply of seeds and subsequent payment to the supplier involved was a thorny issue in the county during the 2023 planting season after a section of the MCAs lamented supply of poor seeds.