Mung'aro defends tender questioned by EACC

Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung'aro has absolved himself from any wrongdoing in the Sh103 million revenue collection tender flagged by EACC.

He said he was the first person to question the tender even before the anti-graft body asked for details.

“The question is not the tender. The tender was done right. What EACC is asking is why the tender will be done by Aden and not Techbiz. The individual subcontracting is not our business. Our business is the technology," Mung'aro said.

"When they wrote the first letter to question the tender I had already instructed my officers not to pay anything until we get clarity on who is supposed to do what."

Mung'aro spoke in Kilifi on Tuesday after meeting civil society organisations.

He assured Kilifi residents that the county has not lost any money through the tender.

“Because investigations are ongoing, I will let them do their investigations. I do not want to pre-empt anything but one thing I will say is the county has not lost a shilling in that tender,” he added

The governor said the new technology will guarantee optimum revenue collection and save the county from loss of revenue through corrupt officer.

EACC Upper Coast Regional office wrote to Mung’aro over the Kilifi county revenue collection tender which costs Sh103 million.

The tender was awarded to Aden construction company.

EACC questioned the capacity of the company to undertake the tender after it subcontracted Techbiz to undertake the tender.

“Preliminary investigations indicate that the successful bidder, one Aden Construction Company does not have the requisite capacity and experience in undertaking revenue management and collection," EACC letter reads in part.

"In support of its bid, it annexed documents belonging to a third party, a firm by the name M/s Techbiz . However, it is critical to note that Techbiz is not party to the agreement and the competency of the successful bidder must be based on its merit and not those of a third party,” it reads.

The letter also questions the revenue sharing, where the devolved unit is to pay 25 per cent of the collected revenue.

“More importantly, we note that there was no meaningful negotiation on revenue sharing and the agreed percentage of 25 per cent is exorbitant and unconscionable," it said.

"It is further noteworthy that the said Techbiz is currently providing similar services to the County Government of Mombasa and the agreed rate of sharing is only five per cent."

Mung’aro defended the sharing formula saying the company will only be mandated with the collection of revenue.

The governor said he is open to any suggestions that will bolster the revenue base for the county.