Kenya Blacklist’s AfDB Contractor For Breaching Procurement Practices

The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority has debarred Jofrim E.A. Company Limited from participating in future government tendering processes for breaching procurement practices.

In a Gazette notice, National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u said the prohibition, which started in December last year, will last for three years.

This means that the firm will no longer participate in public procurement and asset disposal proceedings under Section 41 of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015.

According to the act, the Public Procurement Regulatory Board can debar a firm from participating in asset or disposal proceedings if found guilty of corrupt or fraudulent practices, breaching a contract for procurement, or giving false information.

“JOFRIM E. A. COMPANY LIMITED Has been debarred by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority from participating in public procurement and asset disposal proceedings on the grounds specified in section 41 of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, for a period of three (3) years, with effect from the 12th November, 2023,” the notice reads.

The exclusion comes after the African Development Bank (AfDB) last year blacklisted Joycot General Contractors Limited for engaging in fraudulent practices.

An investigation conducted by the Pan-African lender’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption found that the contractor engaged in fraudulent practices during a tender for the construction of reticulation sewers in Kahawa West, Kahawa Sukari, a component of the Nairobi Rivers Basin Rehabilitation and Restoration Programme: Sewerage Improvement Project Phase II, Kenya.

The Nairobi Rivers Basin Rehabilitation and Restoration Programme, Sewerage Improvement Project Phase II, was aimed at improving access, quality, availability, and sustainability of wastewater services in Nairobi City.