Fresh details have emerged about the intrigues that led to the cancellation of a Sh3 billion Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) tender awarded to French firm Gemalto SA.
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Secretary, Ezra Chiloba wrote to Gemalto, informing it of the termination of the tender for supply, delivery, installation, testing, commissioning and support of KIEMS, which he said is in line with Section 63 of the Public Procurement an Asset Disposal Act, 2015.
A group of individuals at IEBc are reported to have colluded to have the bid documents altered in order to inflate the initial cost bid by Gemalto SA.
It was understood the individuals altered the initial tender bids in order to increase the total cost, having discovered Gemalto was the only firm technically qualified for the tender.
Sources revealed the individuals, whom the commission was yet to identify, changed the bid documents after a group of people working for the Public Procurement and Disposal Administrative Review Board (PPDARB) assured them that they would push the commission to play its part, which included paying for the tender.
Said the source: “You know Gemalto is the only company that had technically won the tender but because some individuals from the commission wanted to get their share, they changed the bid documents and increased the cost of the tender.”
And following the move, the commission is exploring other ways of acquiring the said system, including going the government-to-government way, just as was done in 2013 elections due to time constraints.