Audit: Firms lied to win Kebs inspection tender : The Standard

The Auditor General wants companies that used inaccurate documents to win government tenders to offer inspection services blacklisted. The firms offered inspection services under the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVOC) programme. The companies were to inspect motor vehicles, mobile equipment and spare parts. In a special audit of the PVOC programme, which is run by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs), it emerged that the inspection firms were awarded tenders using questionable information.

SEE ALSO :Clean bill of health for rotting ginger at port

The Auditor General singled out two companies out of the six that expressed interest in the tenders that he said should be barred from doing business in Kenya. The two are, East Africa Automobile Services Limited (EAA) Company Ltd and Auto Terminal Japan (ATJ). “Kebs together with relevant state institutions should ensure that these aforementioned companies, M/S Auto Terminal Japan Limited and EAA company Ltd and any future bidding company that provides falsified documentation be prosecuted,” reads the report in part.

For More of This and Other Stories, Grab Your Copy of the Standard Newspaper.

According to the audit, ATJ and EAA submitted inaccurate procurement documents to Kebs, giving them undue advantage against competitors such as Nippon Inspection Centre Corporation and Quality Inspection Services Inc. Japan (QISJ) who also bid. For instance, ATJ only identified Mamoru Fujie as its sole director without disclosing that Tetsuro Shirahama, listed as the owner of the company with 100 per cent shares, is also a director. 

SEE ALSO :Sh10b contested oil imports haunt Munya, standards body

Likewise, EAA claimed to have 17 inspection centres in Japan but ended up providing only eight lease agreements.

Standard codes

The programme developed standard codes which require that inspection be carried out by an organised government body before importation, and imported vehicles be accompanied by a certificate of road worthiness from the exporting country. “The road vehicles are to be inspected in inspection centres approved by relevant authorities and equipment used in inspection centres is to be certified by an authorised authority,” the auditor noted. Kebs is required to appoint an inspectorate body or bodies in the country where goods originate from to ensure they conform to Kenyan Standards. The PVOC programme is operated by a qualified third party inspection company or companies on behalf of Kebs in the different regions in the world.

SEE ALSO :KRA destroys contraband worth Sh1.5b

It is used to verify that used motor vehicles imported to Kenya are in compliance with the KS 1515:2000 standard before shipment from countries such as Japan, United Kingdom, United Arabs Emirates, South Africa and Thailand. Government statistics show in 2018 Japan provided Kenya with nearly 95 per cent of its imported vehicles. The Auditor General also wants Kebs to put in place control mechanisms to detect the use of falsified documents by bidding companies. The Auditor General also wants Kebs to structure its due diligence for bids and bidders to commence at the start of the evaluation by having special teams perusing through the documents to ensure that bidders demonstrate, with evidence, their capability to serve any tender. Since the inception of the PVOC, four of the five contracts in the programme were performed by one service provider and thus the audit raises s doubts as to whether Kebs can achieve conformity to standards under a multiple contract regime.

SEE ALSO :Kebs boss pressed to explain location of 500,000 sugar bags

There were five cycles of contracts and the following service providers were engaged by Kebs; JAAI (2005/2008), JEVIC (2009/2011), JEVIC, QISJ and ATJ (2012/2015), QISJ (2015/2018) and QISJ (2018/2021).

Overage vehicles

“The audit noted that one of the five contracts was performed by one service provider, and for one cycle (2012/2015) where three providers were awarded a contract, one of them was actually terminated,” noted the report. The  report was prepared at after it emerged that a foreign company, JEVIC, which won the tender alongside Quality Inspection Service Inc. Japan (QISJ) and ATJ in 2012 for a three year period, had its contract terminated early. JEVIC, which provided verification services, allegedly permitted overage vehicles into the country against regulations governing the motor industry. Although Kebs terminated the JEVIC contract it was not immediately clear whether the defective motor vehicles were destroyed since they had a negative effect on the environment.

Do not miss out on the latest news. Join the Standard Digital Telegram channel HERE.

Related Topics

KebsKenya Bureau of Standards