Nairobi County government is on the spot for irregularly awarding tenders to eight companies to supply street lighting materials at a cost of Ksh.313 million during the Financial Year 2022/2023.
This was revealed in the quarterly report by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) which covered the reports forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) during the period between April 1, 2024, to June 30, 2024.
According to the commission, the tender was advertised and the contracts were awarded to the eight companies on the same day, a violation of the 14-day waiting period in line with the public procurement laws.
“It was also established that the LPOs were signed and issued out to the Suppliers without a preceding acceptance of the awards, in violation of the public procurement laws,” read part of the report.
Further, the contracts were signed without the presence of an accounting officer who is mandated to assess the quality of an LPO (Local Purchasing Order) agreement.
On June 3, 2024, the commission forwarded the file to the ODPP to charge the relevant persons involved in the procurement process with 14 offences.
This includes six counts of corrupt practices in procurement processes, two counts of willful failure to comply with the law, and one count of uttering false documents.
Others are two counts of forgery, one count of financial misconduct, neglecting official duty and conspiracy to commit an offence of corruption.
EACC recommended the signed contract to be cancelled and disciplinary proceedings to be issued against those involved.
On July 26, 2024, the DPP returned the file and recommended administrative action to be taken against the suspects.
