Kenya Power has halted a Sh2 billion tender for the supply of electricity meters following a protest from a local manufacturer who accused them of exclusion.
The Public Procurement and Administrative Review Board (PPARB) reviewed the decision pending the determination of an appeal put forth by local manufacturers.
Kenya Power had invited international bidders to supply single-phase, three-phase postpaid, and prepaid meters.
This excluded the local manufacturer’s Energy Meters Assemblers and Manufacturers Association who termed the move as discriminatory.
“Under Section 168 of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act 2015, the procurement proceedings are suspended.
No contract shall be signed between the procuring entity and the tenderer awarded the contract unless the appeal has been finalised,” the ruling by the board stated.
The manufacturers questioned how the company would only allow an international procurement model for the power distribution products.
The local manufacturers have been supplying the meters since 2015.
Their lawyer Titus Koceyo said that such actions that favour foreign manufacturers over local manufacturers are against fundamental laws in the country.
The local manufacturers have threatened to march to the streets to ensure that they do not go out of business.
Some of the conditions set by Kenya Power have edged out the local manufacturers.
They now say that the move is unreasonable, impractical, discriminatory, and meant to stifle and unfairly deny them the opportunity to participate.