HP, Olive wrangle over controversial Sh1.4b in laptops case

Olive Communications Chairman Arun Khanna when he spoke to Daily Nation in Nairobi on March 17, 2014. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI | FILE  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Olive says Public Procurement Administrative Review Board declared the Sh1.4 billion additional services the Indian firm quoted illegal, arguing that all bidders had charged additional services which have not been questioned.
• Hewlett Packard and Haier Group claim the additional amount was never disclosed at the opening of the bids, and that the tender was illegally altered after the process were completed.

By GALGALLO FAYO
More by this Author

Lawyers in the schools laptop case Monday differed over the controversial Sh1.4 billion addition to the final price quoted by Indian IT firm.

 

Olive Telecommunications’ lawyers told High Court that the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board declared the Sh1.4 billion additional services the Indian firm quoted illegal, arguing that all bidders had charged additional services which have not been questioned.

But American IT company Hewlett Packard (HP) and China’s Haier Group lawyers claimed that the additional amount was never disclosed at the opening of the bids, and that the tender was illegally altered after the process were completed.

The lawyers were presenting in hearing of suit challenging the decision by PPARB in March which revoked the award of the supply of Sh24.5 billion laptops tender to Olive.