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Prayers and funeral planning meetings are held daily on zoom until further notice. Meetings start at 8 P.M.
Second-hand cars being offloaded from a cargo ship at the port of Mombasa on July 7, 2021. The Kenya Bureau of Standards still facing challenges related to procurement of inspectors of products in foreign countries before they get shipped to Kenya.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) is still facing challenges related to procurement of inspectors of products in foreign countries before they get shipped to Kenya.
This comes more than six years after it rolled out the programme. Local, international and oversea firms have been scheming against one another and dragging Kebs to courts and the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) as they seek the pre-export verification of conformity (PVOC) tenders.
Legal documents show that Kebs has also been put on the spot for failing to promote the principle of transparency and accountability in public procurement.
In a recent case, the agency had to repeat the procurement process to disclose to a losing foreign bidder why its tender was deemed not to have met the minimum technical requirements.
According to the law, the accounting officer of a public entity is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act on anything touching on public procurement. Regulations 2020 require Kebs to notify the unsuccessful tenderers, in writing, why their bids failed and, disclose to them the name of the successful bidder and the tender price.
The inspection contract involves ensuring products or goods coming to Kenya meet the regulations and quality requirements before shipment.
Unsuccessful bidders
Since December 2015, inspection has been covering all imports, including vehicles. The latest legal battle involves the decision by Kebs to float a restricted international tender on August 2, 2021, for 2021-24 standards services.
Kebs invited 25 firms but only 13 submitted their bids. At the evaluation stage, the tender was classified into 17 zones. The Evaluation Committee recommended the award to six firms found to have the highest evaluated royalty in each targeted zone.
They included Bureau Veritas, World Standardisation Certification & Testing Group (Shenzhen), TUV Austria Turk, and China Hansom Inspection & Certification. China Certification and Inspection Group won in two zones, while Societe Generale De Surveillance (SGS) won in 11 zones.
Two unsuccessful bidders lodged appeals at the PPARB, claiming the proceedings were conducted irregularly.
Intertek International Limited and TUV Nord Egypt, in separate appeals filed last month, also argued that Kebs had breached the Procurement Act and failed to uphold and promote principles of fairness, equitability, transparency and competitiveness as stipulated in the Constitution.
Intertek already operates the PVOC programme for Kebs in regions such as the UK; China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan; India; East Asia and the Middle East. But the tribunal chaired by Faith Waigwa threw out its appeal for being time-barred.
Tender document
The appeal was based on allegations such as Kebs’ decision to amend the tender document from the framework agreement.
It also accused Kebs of failing to spell out in the document the instructions on preparation and submission of the tender that ensure preference and reservation are applied and benefit citizen contractors.
According to the board, having received the tender document on August 9, 2021, Intertek was supposed to file the appeal within 14 days, meaning they ought to have filed the appeal on August 23 but did so on January 3, 2022.
It struck out the appeal for want of authority to hear and determine the allegations raised.
With regard to the appeal filed by TUV Nord Egypt, the board ruled that it was wrong for Kebs to fail to disclose reasons why its bid was deemed not to have met the minimum technical requirements. The firm was also not informed of its scores at the technical evaluation stage.
“This, we note, has hampered the applicant’s capacity to challenge the evaluation of its tender because it is not aware of which particular criterion it did not satisfy at the technical evaluation stage for it to specifically challenge the same, if need be,” said the board. – nation.africa.
Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge.
A parliamentary committee has struck out sections of a Bill that sought to usurp the powers of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) as a fiscal agent and banker to the government.
MPs have proposed changes to the Debt Management Authority Bill which seeks to establish an independent body to manage the country’s debt with a view of reducing the burden which is projected to hit Sh8.6 trillion in June.
The Bill proposes to take away the mandate of CBK as the government’s fiscal agent and vests it in the Public Debt Management Authority.
The Bill, sponsored by Nambale MP Sakwa Bunyasi seeks to establish an authority that will maintain a register of all loans advanced to national and county governments.
It will compel the CBK to work together with the authority and the Treasury to determine the form of securities to be created, issued or floated.
“This is an anomaly as section 32 of the CBK Act provides that the fiscal agent for all of the government’s transactions with international financial institutions of which Kenya is a member or with which Kenya is associated shall be the CBK,” the committee said.
It has proposed a raft of amendments to the Bill after the CBK governor Patrick Njoroge protested against sections that seek to clip the regulator’s powers.
“The above functions are critical to CBK’s effectiveness in its other functions and importantly, coordination of monetary and fiscal policies, managing the exchange rate, lender of last resort to the banking sector and regulator of the National Payment System,” Dr Njoroge said.
Dr Njoroge said stripping CBK of its function as a fiscal agent and banker to the government will not only weaken CBK and overall economic management but also place those responsibilities in an organ that does not capacity to deliver.
“Further, effectively. It will therefore require a lot of resources to set up the Public Debt Management Authority,” Dr Njoroge said in a presentation to the committee.
Debate on the Bill was concluded last week and it awaits the committee of the Whole House where MPs scrutinise each clause and propose amendments.
“The committee agreed with the views raised by the CBK and consequently proposed further amendments to the functions of the authority,” Gladys Wanga who chairs the team said in a report to the House.
She said as proposed in the Bill, the Public Debt Management Authority will decouple debt operations from the government’s financing needs.
“For instance, the government will be uncertain about its ability to borrow to finance expenditures when revenues fall short and there will be poor coordination with regards to long- term borrowing to finance,” Ms Wanga said.
Currently, the committee said the financing of operations of the national government are linked to its debt operations and borrowing program through the annual Medium Term Debt Management Strategy. – businessdailyafrica.com
Deputy President William Ruto who flew out on February 27, 2022 to the United States, marking the beginning of his 10-day political tour that will also see him visit Britain.
Deputy President William Ruto Sunday morning flew out to the United States, marking the beginning of his 10-day political tour that will also see him visit Britain.
He is accompanied by a 30-member delegation, including his wife Rachel Ruto and Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi
The DP is expected to hold talks with Karen Brass, a member of the US House of Representatives, with a focus on Kenya’s economic vision, foreign policy, democracy and governance. The DP will also meet officials of the State Department and the Pentagon, as well as the Government National Security Council (NSC) Advisor.
“Dr Ruto is honouring invites by senior government officials and top policy institutes in Washington, DC and London. He will speak at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, and at the University of Arizona’s Washington Entrepreneurship Hub. The USA leg of the trip will conclude with a meeting with the Kenyan diaspora,” said Mr Ababu Namwamba, head of international relations at the WSR Presidential Campaign Secretariat.
Focus on presidential bid
While announcing the foreign tour on Twitter, Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok, who is also the head of Dr Ruto’s campaign secretariat, said the visit will also focus on the DP’s August presidential bid.
“Accompanying DP William Ruto on an official [whistle-stop] tour of the West, with a post 09 August 2022 message of hope and a better future for Kenyans and our nation,” said Mr Nanok.
Other leaders on the trip include Governor Anne Waiguru of Kirinyaga and Kwale’s Salim Mvurya.
Senators Susan Kihika (Nakuru) and Kipchumba Murkomen (Elgeyo Marakwet) are also part of the team.
Members of the National Assembly on the tour include Ms Soipan Tuya (Narok Woman Rep), Mr Owen Baya (Kilifi North), Ms Beatrice Adagala (Vihiga Woman Rep), Ms Alice Wahome (Kandara), Mr Kimani Ichung’wah (Kikuyu) and Mr Aden Duale (Garissa Township).
Others in the delegation include aides and support staff working at the DP’s office.
Foreign policy
At the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the DP is expected to share his thoughts on how he will handle foreign policy, the fight against terrorism and trade should he win the August 9 presidential election.
Before leaving for the UK, the DP will meet Kenyans living in the US at the Mt Calvary Baptist Church in Washington.
In London, Dr Ruto will meet senior UK government officials, visit the National Counter-Terrorism Centre and speak at both the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House).
He is also expected to speak to Kenyans living in the UK and pay a courtesy call on the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. – nation.africa.
A foreign exchange bureau in St Petersburg
The EU, US and their allies have agreed to cut off a number of Russian banks from the main international payment system, Swift.
“This is intended to cut off these institutions from international financial flows, which will massively restrict their global operations,” a German government spokesman said.
Russia is heavily reliant on the Swift system for its oil and gas exports.
But the move could also harm Western businesses doing business with Russia.
Swift, or the “Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication”, is a secure messaging system that makes fast, cross-border payments possible, enabling international trade.
The banks set to be affected are “all those already sanctioned by the international community, as well as other institutions, if necessary”, the German spokesman said.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said the allies would stop Russia from “using its war chest,” by paralysing the assets of its central bank. They also agreed to freezing its transactions and prevent the central bank from liquidating its assets.
She added there would be a crackdown on so-called “golden passports” that “let wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government become citizens of our countries and gain access to our financial systems”.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain had taken “decisive action”, tweeting: “We will keep working together to ensure Putin pays the price for his aggression.”
The measures were agreed by the US, UK, Europe and Canada.
It is the latest round of sanctions to hit Russia since it launched an invasion of Ukraine this week.
Removing banks from Swift is deemed to be a severe curb because almost all banks use the system.
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Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) Director-General Daniel Kiptoo
Kenya is reviewing applications of companies seeking to build eight privately-owned import terminals for cooking gas in another attempt to lower prices in the absence of government price controls on the commodity.
Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) director-general Daniel Kiptoo told the Business Daily that the State has approved Lake Oil to start constructing its terminal at Kwale while the other seven are at various stages of evaluation.
Kenya currently imports Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) through a privately-owned facility at the Port of Mombasa and the Port of Dar-es-Salaam, locking out competition that is key to lowering the cost of cooking gas.
The absence of competition, the 16 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) and a lack of common-user government-owned facility at the Port of Mombasa have been blamed for the high prices.
“We have eight privately-owned import terminals for LPG that are at various stages of approval. Some are already doing their Environmental Impact Assessment and two weeks ago we approved Lake Oil to do their plant in Kwale,” Mr Kiptoo said on Thursday.
“These terminals will offer different routes of importing cooking gas and have the desired effect of bringing competition that is key to the lowering the price of cooking gas,” Mr Kiptoo added.
One company is currently handling over 90 percent of Kenya’s LPG shipments while the other chunk comes in through the Tanga plant in Mtwara, with the products trucked via Namanga and Holili border posts.
Gas prices have jumped 48 percent to an eight-year high of Sh2,978 for a 13-kilogramme cylinder as the exclusive club of suppliers and distributors used the introduction of new taxes to hike prices.
The 13-kg gas from Total Energies is retailing at Sh2,995, Rubis K-gas at Sh2,950 and Shell/Vivo’s Afrigas Sh2,990.
LPG firms from Tanzania export about 40 percent of their annual volumes to Kenya highlighting the impact of the lack of many players to ship the product locally.
Prices of LPG in Mombasa are much higher than in Dar es Salaam and Tanga due to more efficient offloading and storage infrastructure.
Cooking gas prices are not controlled unlike petrol, diesel and kerosene with the government stating price controls on LPG will deter investors from coming into the sector.
The government has been promising to control for over a decade after the handling and storage facility under construction in Mombasa is complete.
The terminals will offer the government another avenue to lower prices of cooking gas as it awaits completion of the Kipevu Oil Terminal that will have a common-user berth for handling cooking gas.
Kenya will build a common-user facility for handling cooking gas once the Kipevu Oil Terminal is completed.
The berth that will take 36 months to construct will allow the State to start an open tender system (OTS) for gas imports. – businessdailyafrica.com
SUMMARY
Mothers and children gathered at Korczowa border crossing with Poland Friday
Poland fears there may be an influx of over one million civilians from Ukraine
Reception stations are being set up at key points on the over 300-mile border
Thousands have been heading west to seek safety from Putin’s planes and tanks
They were in the vanguard of what Poland fears may be an influx of more than a million
civilians from neighbouring Ukraine, driven from their homes by the Russian invasion.
The two countries share a border of more than 300 miles and reception stations are being established at key crossing points to register the incomers and provide them with food and water.
Thousands of families have been heading west to seek safety from Putin’s planes and tanks.
Many we met there had endured more than 24 hours of waiting on the Ukrainian side only to suffer the new heartbreak of having their husbands, fathers, sons and brothers prevented from crossing into Poland with them.
The Ukrainian authorities have decreed that no males between the ages of 18 and 60 can leave. They are expected to stay and fight as part of a general military mobilisation.
And so families were being broken up with safety in sight. Irya, 31, had driven to the Polish border with her husband Oleg and their 11-year-old daughter from the town of Ternopil.
‘Then after 25 hours waiting to cross I had to say goodbye to Oleg,’ she said.
‘The situation is terrible. I do not know what to do now. I am alone.’
Two families from Kiev had also seen their menfolk taken away from them on the border after waiting 20 hours to cross.
They had not met before their ordeal and planned to travel on to Italy and the Czech Republic respectively, where they had relations.
But they had thrown in their lot together once their men were forced to leave them, and travelled in the same car to cross the frontier – solidarity among strangers born of mutual suffering.
Among them was eight-year-old schoolgirl Malchyk who was carrying her pet white mouse Pschuk in a plastic travelling box.
The mouse was allowed through, her father was not.
Some of the female drivers had particular reason to feel desolate. – dailymail.co.uk
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