Nairobi restaurant loses KDC tea contract to rival

Ag Director Common, Kenya Growth Company Norah Ratemo earlier than Departmental Committee on Tourism and Tourism at KICC, Nairobi County on June 8, 2023. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NMG

A well-liked metropolis restaurant has misplaced a multi-million-shilling workplace tea tender it had been awarded by the State-owned Kenya Growth Company (KDC) after the Public Procurement Administrative Evaluate Board (PPARB) vetoed the KDC board’s resolution.

Azuri Café and Restaurant misplaced the availability of workplace tea and outdoors catering companies tender to Royal Style Kitchen Ltd, following a authorized battle the latter launched earlier than the PPARB after KDC awarded Azuri the tender.

KDC awarded Azuri the tender in November following a month-long procurement course of, a choice that resulted in Royal Style Kitchen transferring earlier than PPARB for a assessment. It complained that it had been disqualified regardless of being the bottom evaluated bidder.

Royal Style Kitchen argued earlier than the Board that regardless of quoting the bottom value on the remaining stage of the tendering course of, KDC denied it the tender on grounds that its tax compliance certificates had been withdrawn.

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“The primary respondent [KDC] is hereby ordered to reconvene and direct the Analysis Committee to make a recent suggestion of award of the topic tender to the bottom evaluated tender [by Royal Taste Kitchen], paying attention to the Board’s findings, inside seven days,” PPARB mentioned in a choice issued on December 22, 2023. A complete of 13 firms submitted tenders by the deadline of October 13, 2023, out of which six certified on the preliminary and technical analysis levels.

On the monetary analysis stage the place bidders had been evaluated primarily based on the worth, they might cost KDC for the companies of serving a most of 256 cups of workplace tea every day, 4 firms had been dropped, with Azuri and Royal Style Kitchen qualifying after they quoted the identical and the bottom provide.

“On the finish of the analysis at this stage, it was established that the applicant (Royal Style Kitchen) and the celebration (Azuri Café and Restaurant) quoted the identical tender value which additionally occurred to be the bottom evaluated value,” the Board’s doc notes.

This brought on KDC’s tender analysis committee to ask the 2 to submit their greatest and remaining provide to interrupt the tie, because it additionally beneficial finishing up due diligence on them.

On the remaining stage, Royal Style Kitchen submitted the bottom provide (which was not disclosed within the Board’s paperwork), towards Azuri which was awarded the tender at a price of Sh40 for a cup of tea equipped to KDC.

At most supply, the Sh40/cup tender would imply Azuri would make Sh10,240 every day it delivered its companies for the morning and night periods, earlier than factoring outdoors catering companies.

KDC mentioned it awarded Azuri after it famous that Royal Style Kitchen’s tax compliance certificates had been withdrawn.

However Royal Style Kitchen was a couple of week after KDC awarded Azuri the tender transfer earlier than the Board on December 4 requesting for assessment of the method, which resulted within the board’s nullification of the KDC resolution on December 22.

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“The primary respondent (KDC Director-Common) is hereby ordered to reconvene and direct the analysis committee to make a recent suggestion of award of the topic tender to the bottom evaluated tender, paying attention to the Board’s findings above, inside seven days from the date of this resolution,” the Board ordered.

The Board additionally nullified the letter asserting Azuri because the profitable tender and faulted KDC’s resolution to disqualify Royal Style Kitchen on the idea of its tax compliance certificates, arguing that “validity of paperwork submitted in response to an invite to tender needs to be gauged on their validity as on the tender submission deadline.”

In its submissions earlier than the Board, KDC admitted that Royal Style Kitchen submitted the bottom evaluated tender value however indicated that it disqualified it after noting its tax compliance certificates had been withdrawn, though it was legitimate on the preliminary tender analysis stage.

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