A senior official from the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) testified in court on Monday, stating that the process leading to the award of a Sh42 million tender for rig move services was fully compliant with the law.
Pamela Ouma, who is currently Chief Officer supply chain at GDC and sat in the tender committee, explained to the anti-corruption court that all legal requirements were met during the tendering process.
She added that she did not find any reason for the report that ultimately led to the tender's award to be rejected.
Ouma confirmed that the tender complied with procurement laws and that it had been properly budgeted for with an existing procurement plan in place.
"It was also advertised in the local dailies as required by the law. Tender opening was also conducted and minutes recorded. The award was made in accordance with the law," she said.
She further clarified that the accused persons being Nicholas Weke, Peter Omenda and Caleb Mbayi did not participate in the tender evaluation process.
The witness acknowledged that the three accused are charged with violating Regulation 10(2)(e) of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act of 2006 by approving the Sh42 million tender award to Bonafide Clearing and Forwarding Company.
When asked whether she had seen any document published by the Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) that listed rig move services as an item with a market price, Ouma responded, "At that time, no."
She explained that the PPOA typically published market prices for standard goods, services, and works, but she could not speak to the market prices relevant to the specific tender as she was not part of the evaluation committee.
"I wouldn’t know what the prevailing market prices were for this particular tender. The best person to answer that would be someone from the evaluation committee," she stated.
Ouma was testifying against Weke, Omenda, and Mbayi, who are accused of unlawfully awarding the Sh42.7 million tender to Bonafide Clearing and Forwarding at an inflated cost.
The tender was for rig services related to GDC's Menengai project, and the charges stem from allegations that the rig movement costs were artificially inflated.
