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{
    "id": 1152543,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1152543/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 86,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "Section 53 is extremely important. It is where we started inserting in the year 2015 the provisions that then will enable young people, women and Persons with Disability (PWDs) to be incorporated in the public procurement. Section 53 of the Act talks about procurement and asset disposal planning. It says at the beginning of a financial year, there shall be that procurement plan that is then prepared. In that procurement plan, we said that the procuring entity or the accounting officer shall also demonstrate how within that procurement plan they are going to provide for preferences and reservations that take care of these young people, women and PWDs. In Clause 12, we are inserting a new section that says- “Upon submission of this procurement plan to the National Treasury pursuant to Section 44(2)(c), the accounting officer of a procuring entity shall publish and publicize its approved procurement plan as an invitation to treat on its website.” Mr. Speaker, Sir, access to this information is what has been lacking. There are certain few special people who have been working in the system and are the only ones who understand what procurement plans county government and national Government entities have. I applaud the Governor of Makueni County because he was one of those who had very transparent publishing of his procurement plans, among very few others. Without this information, you cannot expect these businesses owned by our young people and special groups to be able to compete effectively. This is a great introduction that once it is submitted to the National Treasury, it is then publicized on its website as an invitation to treat. In legal terms, ‘an invitation to treat’ is a beginning of a contract. You have said, “that in this financial year, these are the things we are going to be thinking about. These are the areas we need to procure in terms of recurrent, development, therefore, prepare and plan accordingly. Mr. Speaker, Sir, further to that, in Section 54 which talks about pricing and requirement not to split contracts says that- “No procuring entity may structure procurement as two or more procurements for the purpose of avoiding the use of a procurement procedure except where prescribed.” This provision has been abused by many county governments. Where you know that beyond a certain amount, it must be an open tender. You need to go through the process, then they split those contracts. If it is one for Kshs10 million, they do 10 of them at Kshs1 million. They now do directly yet there is a provision that is clear that you cannot structure as two or more procurements for the purpose of avoiding the use of the procedures, except where prescribed. The insertion which comes under Subsection 2 is- “That the head of a procuring entity or function shall carry out market service to inform the placing of orders or decision making on a procurement by the relevant awarding authority.” Subsection 2b- For infrastructure projects, the head of the procurement function in liaison with the head of the technical unit function of a procuring entity shall then prepare market survey The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}