Mombasa County faces criticism from a human rights group for awarding a Ksh17 billion waste-to-energy tender to a Ghanaian conglomerate without public participation or assembly approval. The Centre for Litigation Trust has issued a seven-day ultimatum demanding transparency on the process. County assembly members have also questioned the lack of involvement in the decision.
Mombasa County has come under fire from the Centre for Litigation Trust (CLT) over the secretive awarding of a Ksh17 billion tender for a waste-to-energy processing plant. The organization alleges that the Abdullswamad Nassir-led county granted the contract to a Ghanaian conglomerate without conducting public participation or obtaining approval from the County Assembly, as required by law.
The tender covers the design, construction, financing, operation, and transfer of the facility in Mwakirunge. CLT's letter to the county demands details on whether it is a public-private partnership (PPP) or a standard tender, and if a PPP, whether it was tabled before the assembly for deliberation. "We seek to know whether the tender is a public-private partnership or a normal tender and if the PPP was tabled before the County Assembly for deliberation," the organization stated.
CLT has given the county seven days to provide a shortlist of applicants, the total number of bidders, dates of any public participation, evaluation criteria, score sheets for each tenderer, quoted amounts, and completion dates. It notes that "public participation as mandated by the law has never been undertaken, nor has the said tender ever been tabled before the County Assembly of Mombasa for deliberations as required by law."
The deal follows a visit to Ghana in early August by a delegation led by Governor Nassir. Within the County Assembly, Bamburi MCA Patrick Mwavule has voiced concerns, stating the assembly was not involved. "There was a letter that was written citing that there was an approval from the assembly. I sit in the assembly and have never been part of such a conversation. Confirm to us, has there been any kind of conversation of that nature regarding the services that were to be rendered to the people of Mombasa?" Mwavule questioned.
This controversy highlights ongoing debates about transparency in county procurement processes in Kenya.