The Jubilee government has lived up to its promise when it comes to expansion of road networks in the country by paving tens of thousands of kilometers.
The roads expansion and paving is a task delegated to three government agencies namely the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA), Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA).
In the case of individuals and business ventures, there are laid down standards and procedures by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) outlining the requirements and application processes of a road tender.
In the case of road tenders, the National Construction Authority (NCA) certificate is a mandatory requirement. The organisation provides a regulatory framework for builders, contractors, site workers and supervisors.
NCA gives various clearance levels to contractors ranging from NCA level one to level seven.
In the case of a Ksh5 million tender, NCA will give a clearance level of NCA7 which covers tenders of up to Ksh50 million for roads and other civil works.
As registration fees, local contractors are required to pay a fee of between Ksh10,000 and Ksh50,000 depending on category in order to register. Foreign contractors will pay a registration fee of Ksh100,000.
Kenyans.co.ke lists the laid procedure for an applicant seeking a Ksh5 million tender.
Guidelines for Tender Preparation
The guidelines involve three parts. The first part involves tendering procedure which entail Instructions To Tenderers (ITT), Tender Data Sheet (TDS), evaluation and qualification criteria and tendering forms.
The second part involves the entity’s schedules of requirements, specifications, drawings, supplementary information to describe the items to be procured.
The third part include general and specific conditions of contract as well as contract forms.
Preparation of Tenders
The applicant shall meet all costs associated with the preparation and submission of the tender and the procuring entity shall not be responsible for those costs.
The applicant will possess specific documents which comprises of the following:
Form of tender prepared in accordance with ITT 12, schedules including Bill of Quantities, tender security/ tender-securing declaration, documentary evidence establishing the signatory of the applicant to commit to the tender, written confirmation authorizing the signatory of the tender to commit the tenderer, a technical proposal (conformity) and any other document required in the TDS.
In the case of joint business ventures, a copy of the agreement shall be attached to the tender.
Format and Signing of the Tender
The applicant shall prepare one original of the documents and clearly mark it as “Original.” Alternative tenders, if permitted, shall be clearly marked “Alternative.”
In addition, copies of the tender shall be attached and clearly marked as “Copy.” In the case of a joint business venture, the tender shall be signed by an authorised representative of the venture so as to be legally binding.
Submission and opening of Tenders
The applicant shall deliver the tender in a single sealed envelope/package bearing the name and reference number of the tender.
It will be addressed to the procuring entity and a warning not to open before the time and date for tender opening date.
The inner envelopes shall bear the name and address of the procuring entity, tenderer and tender. Late tenders shall be rejected and returned unopened to the applicant.
The applicants will submit the tenders to the Procuring Entity at the address specified in the TDS and no later than the date and time also specified in the TDS.
When so specified in the TDS, Tenderers shall have the option of submitting their tenders electronically. Tenderers submitting tenders electronically shall follow the Electronic Tender Submission Procedures specified in the TDS.
Eligibility of an Applicant
In the case of an individual, they should not have conflict of interest and should not have a substantial or controlling interest. Further, public officers are not allowed.
The applicants will not be accepted if they are found to have been involved in corrupt, coercive, obstructive or fraudulent practice.
They shall not participate in more than one tender except for permitted alternative tenders.
The applicants will be rejected if they have been debarred from participating in public procurement. The list of debarred firms and individuals are on PPRA website.
In the case for a state owned enterprise or public institution, the applicants will be allowed if it is determined that it is a legal public entity of government.
Further, the institution will be granted if it is financially autonomous and not receiving any significant subsidies or budget support from any public entity or government.
The institution ought to be operating under commercial law and vested with legal rights and liabilities similar to any commercial enterprise.