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PPOA says it okayed Safaricom security project

PPOA's Deputy Director Jane Njoroge said they had analysed all the contract documents provided by the Interior Ministry and are satisfied that due process was followed/FILE

PPOA’s Deputy Director Jane Njoroge said they had analysed all the contract documents provided by the Interior Ministry and are satisfied that due process was followed/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 10 – The Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) announced on Thursday that it had approved the contract awarded to Safaricom for installation of security surveillance equipment.

PPOA’s Deputy Director Jane Njoroge said they had analysed all the contract documents provided by the Interior Ministry and are satisfied that due process was followed.

She told the National Assembly Committee on Administration and National Security probing the award of the tender that after scrutinising the documents, they were also satisfied that direct procurement was justified.

Njoroge said the decision to approve the tender was informed by an upsurge in terrorism and other related crimes in the country.

“We have terrorism attacks happening three times in a week so when the procuring agency says they want to save the country through this method, we looked at it and we saw the urgency,” she explained. “It is a question of interpretation and that is how we interpreted it.”

Interior Principal Secretary Mutea Iringo explained that the project was instrumental in boosting the capacity of security agencies in tackling crime in the country.

“We do not need to wait for another incident to know how urgent this matter is. It is dynamic, you can see that it is foreseeable, you can not continue waiting,” he said.

The company will spend Sh14.9 billion on the project that the government will reimburse in phases.

The House Committee in June ordered the suspension of the integrated security system contract until MPs approve the project.

Safaricom is to install a state-of-the-art integrated security system across Nairobi and Mombasa, with President Uhuru Kenyatta demanding the system be completed “as soon as possible” as it is “necessary for the safety of our country”.

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The Integrated Public Safety Communication and Surveillance System which is intended to assist the police service in effectively fighting crime will feature 1,800 surveillance cameras installed around the two cities and 7,600 police officers equipped with digital communication devices, with the whole network linked by a video conferencing facility and all elements linking back to a central command and mapping centre.

The system will run over a dedicated independent 4G network to protect it from network disruptions, with police stations across Nairobi and Mombasa to be provided with internet connections to be able to access the system.

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