Government To Government Procurement And Its Use In Kenya: An Analysis Of The Procurement Of Biometric Voter Registration Devices For The 2013 Kenyan General Elections

Abstract

The recent adoption by Kenya of the procurement method known as “government-to-government procurement” which is a method of procurement that occurs where a bilateral or multilateral agreement is entered into between the Government of Kenya and a foreign government, agency, entity or multilateral agency. Usually, such an agreement would be a financing agreement such as a concessional loan or grant with respect to a project or supply of goods and services. It is normal for such an agreement to provide that a specific supplier shall undertake the project or supply the goods and services that is being financed under the agreement. The method is not regulated under Kenyan procurement law and raises queries in relation to its compliance with the minimum requirements of a public procurement system set out in the Constitution of Kenya. Under the Constitution of Kenya, a public procurement system ought to be fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective. This project paper reviews the procurement of the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits for the 2013 Kenyan General Elections as a case study for the use of government-to-government procurement process. The study’s main focus was whether government to government procurement process is a cost-effective procurement method as is required under the Constitution of Kenya. The study found that government-to-government does not comply with the constitutional requirement of procurement processes being cost-effective. Specifically in such an arrangement, the resulting contract is not on the best available terms to Kenya and therefore value for money is not attained. This project paper has recommended inter alia that Kenyan procurement legislation should be reformed in order to regulate this mode of procurement.