French firm challenges IEBC move to cancel Sh3b poll management tender

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) CEO Ezra Chiloba. PHOTO | FILE | NMG 

By PATRICK LANG'AT

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Summary

• IEBC said it had cancelled a Sh3 billion tender with the firm due to budgetary and time constraints.
• Gemalto S.A. however says it has the capacity to deliver the system within the legal time frame of April 10.
• On the budget, Gemalto S.A. says that the IEBC should have negotiated with it on the quoted price.

International digital security firm Gemalto S.A. has challenged the electoral agency’s move to ...
cancel a tender for the supply of a system for voter identification and results transmission in the August General Election.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Wednesday said it had cancelled a Sh3 billion tender with the France-based company due to budgetary and time constraints.

The firm, in a letter to the IEBC chief executive Ezra Chiloba, says it has the capacity to deliver the system within the legal time frame of April 10.

READ: IEBC defies tribunal, cancels polls management tender

“We submit that you consider this letter as a non-contentious approach in order to restore the tender process and begin the important work without any further delay,” Gemalto said in a letter signed by Charles Mevaa, its vice president of Africa government business.

The polling agency, while terminating the contract, said the April 10 timeline for the procurement of the system for the voter register verification set to start on May 10 had presented a huge challenge to the commission.

“Your financial bid was significantly above the budgetary provision. The commission (also) considered that there would be no value for money to retain the voter registration component in KIEMS at present,” Mr Chiloba said in a letter to the firm.

"Given the remaining legal steps to conclude the tender, it will be almost impossible for the commission to execute its mandate within the statutory timelines," the letter adds.

But in its response, the firm says the IEBC should have engaged with it to ensure the success of the tender.

On the budget, Gemalto said that the electoral body should have negotiated with it on the quoted price.

“We also take the view, that the KIEMS (Kenya Integrated Elections Management Systems) project was a new obligation introduced by the Elections Laws Amendment Act 2016 subsequent to the 2016/17 budget cycle and perhaps a determinate budget provision would have been difficult. Thus, a more persuasive reason would have been that provided under section 63(1)(d) where “there is evidence that prices of the bids are above market prices”,” the firm said.

Legal spat

The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board had on March 9 asked the IEBC to proceed with the KIEMS tender after Gemalto opposed its cancellation.

This was after the electoral body cancelled the tender in February after another bidder, US firm Avante, challenged the procurement.

It was feared that the legal row would cloud preparations for the General Election since the law requires the system to be in place four months before polls are conducted and a test run done at least three months ahead of the poll date.