AoN Insurance In A Tendering Scam To Win A Sh.15Billion Deal With TSC

Sammy Muthui, chief operating officer at AoN Kenya Insurance Brokers

Aon Insurance Brokers struck a deal with Teachers Service Commission last year for medical cover on its staff valued at Sh 5.6 billion AON Minet, and the scandalous deal was surrounded with bribery claims which led to a court suit to have it terminated. It emerged that the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) were duped after some of its members were lured by a 10 per cent kickback from the deal.

Details emerged that some Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and Knut were involved in hammering out the multi-billion deal were more concerned with the kickback that translated to approximately Sh500 million, that would accrue after the deal was finalised. The deal was tailored by Sossion and party.

It doesn’t make sense why TSC the employer had to bring on board KNUT in negotiating the deal, perhaps a ploy to oil shoulders of vital bodies to avoid repulsion. While the tender was advertised, the parties involved had already identified AoN Brokers who offered a good incentive.

The matter was brought to the attention of Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission after anti-graft Director of Investigation Abdi Mohamud demanded copies of various documents from TSC to launch investigations into allegations of procurement irregularities in the award for tender to AON.

Among the records needed was the list of bidders, approved budget, minutes of the tender committee, payment vouchers and tender advertisements. In 2014, TSC boss Gabriel Lengoibon, with the outspoken fire-chewing Knut secretary general Wilson Sossion, allegedly secretly sourced for AoN Minet for the cover. In a bid to conceal, it is claimed, they invited officials of Knut to discuss the matter with Kuppet being kept in the dark of the goings on. It is compelling to note, Sossion was on National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) board that issued contracts to dubious clinics that caused a stir in public time back.

KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion

A new storm is brewing as AoN is hell bent to retain the medical cover deal with the commission since their current tie, expires, sleuths talking to Kenya Insights say, the Brokering Company has resorted to using every means in store to ensure that it clinches the Sh15 billion teachers medical cover scheme for a period of three years.

A manager at Pioneer Insurance Company( tendering for the contract with teachers) as we learn from source visited the Teachers Service Commission Evaluation Committee in Nakuru where they were having consultative meetings and parted with Sh1 million for each of the six members as the bribe.

The evaluation committee had been stationed in Nakuru county between July 28-31 only for the said AoN’s agent to arrive and part with Sh6 million in what could be described as trying to play dirty with Kenya’s largest workforce of 250,000 teachers. This was after AoN Insurance realised that Clarkson Insurance had quoted Sh14 billion for three years as opposed to AoN’s Sh15.3 billion. Liaison Insurance put a figure of Sh17.7 billion.

The quotation by Clarkson has caused sleepless nights to AoN forcing it to use crooked means to retain the lucrative medical scheme for teachers which it had earlier signed for a one year in the period 2015/16. The committee is currently divided and at loggerheads on whether to declare Clarkson the winner or AoN Insurance. AoN’s had during the initial contract with TSC signed a Sh5.6 billion contract.

A good umber of teachers who’ve contacted Kenya Insights on this issue says the AoN cover was the force down their throats and have lodged serious complaints. They complain of delays in the processing of payments to health facilities, leading to loss of valuable teaching time, thus adversely affecting innocent students in their respective schools whenever teachers go for outpatient services in AON Minet-accredited health facilities.

Kenya Insights has its eyes all over this deal and will be keen to see the directions it takes and how things play out. With 10% tradition in tendering at the back of mind, we will tell you the developments as we have our spies planted in all the corridors on this deal.