US Decries Locking Out of American Companies from Government Tenders in Kenya

US Decries Locking Out of American Companies from Government Tenders in Kenya

The US has accused corrupt Kenyan public officials of locking out American companies from government contracts.

The US Trade Representative’s office lamented that tender bids in Kenya are often manipulated to benefit a few public officials and their cronies, hence locking out qualified American companies.

“US firms have had limited success bidding on government tenders in Kenya. There are widespread reports that corruption often influences the outcome of public tenders, and many of these tenders are challenged in the courts,” the office said.

It added: “Foreign firms, some without proven track records, have won government contracts when partnered with well-connected Kenyan firms.” 

The US is seeking more transparency in the tendering process in Kenya ahead of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.

In 2019, Kenya shifted all public tenders and procurement transactions to the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) as part of its efforts to tackle fraud in public tenders.

But the US Trade Representative’s office says “IFMIS has security gaps that make it vulnerable to manipulation, including the duplication of authorized users’ identities and non-users ability to remotely access IFMIS.” 

“Corruption is widely reported to affect government procurement tender processes at both the national and county levels. The Government has not implemented anti-corruption laws effectively,” the agency added. 

Comments

sokora (not verified)     Mon, 04/19/2021 @ 04:58pm

No preferential treatment. And you talk of corruption! The US is as corrupt and your contractor price is so much higher than the government would get from other bidders. No Saints here.

Mkenya halisi (not verified)     Mon, 04/19/2021 @ 08:16pm

@Sokora u removed words out of my mouth.This idiots think we don’t know them.They act like saints.Last year they yapped to us that we should b careful of Chinese debts yet when they bribed n won mombasa rd expansion they zipped they mouths started saying debt is not bad for kenya.Western world is very corrupt they continue stealing from other countries like 3rd world with Aid/NGOs/Sanctions of u don’t kiss their bam.Theie Embasyy is full of applicants visiting daily for visas yet out of 300 only 2/4 people’s r given pocketing millions of monies daily.So waache kutubeba unjinga.Chinese all the way

sokora (not verified)     Mon, 04/19/2021 @ 11:51pm

In reply to by Mkenya halisi (not verified)

You hit the nail on the head @ Mkenya Halisi. They are yapping because they have been blocked from enslaving us again. Slavery is over. They need to clean the inside of their cups before telling Kenya to clean its own. They are trying to come in so that they can manipulate our working system and begin stealing our resources. We know them...they've done before and they continue to do it even as we speak.

Mūgīkūyū (not verified)     Mon, 04/19/2021 @ 09:19pm

I am yet to hear Kenyan companies being offered government tenders in US. And who are these people complaining? Didn't the US government issue travel warning to Kenya because of terrorism and COVID-19? What are they doing in unsafe country?

Mkenya halisi (not verified)     Tue, 04/20/2021 @ 10:14am

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣@Mugikuyu pewa muratina nitalipa.This idiots from the west have bin with us since 1897 but all we can show is poverty/disease/Aid etc.Chinese came other day n they r transforming Africa big time yes we will pay the loans??If the west did what Chinese have bin doing they could have benefited more but they were happy for us to continue dying like dogs n our countries bin unnderveloped so warelax wajionee Chinese transforming Kenya n Africa as I said wr ready to pay LOANS Period

Guesty (not verified)     Tue, 04/20/2021 @ 01:55pm

The Chinese government has built a diesel railway at the cost of $3.6 billion, which we all know it’s a lie.
That railway & train does not cost that much.

The Chinese can’t be trusted.

Also the gave the world COVID-19.

Guesty (not verified)     Wed, 04/21/2021 @ 08:32am

In reply to by Sokora (not verified)

This is why Uhuru & Ruto must go.
A president from other tribes will welcome American companies that do good quality work.

China has given the world Covid-19 we don’t want anything from them.

sokora (not verified)     Wed, 04/21/2021 @ 11:44am

In reply to by Guesty (not verified)

My friend @ Guesty, please speak for yourself. History tells the tale. Kenya was with the West since self-rule (which most of you call independence). When the locals kicked out the whites (Kaburos), the Kaburos, in turn, made sure they continued to rape Kenya economically by stealing our resources. Same case all over Africa. Kibaki stepped in office and made sure Kenya aligned herself with countries that would bring development. Now you have the diesel SGR that you are badmouthing. Above, I asked you a question regarding one thing that you can state about America's honest and genuine investments in Kenya. Instead of answering the question, you attacked Uhuru and Ruto. I would say this to you; if you are in America, stay there and enjoy your time but if you are in Kenya, then you need to either hash and leave Kenya alone to do it's business any way it wants. Kenya is sovereign my friend.

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