For years now, Kenyans have been following with great interest the controversy around Swiss firm SICPA Security Solutions SA Limited. As the saga unfolds, the general public comes to learn more about the many unbelievable malpractices in which the firm is mired.
To put in perspective the controversy in Kenya, it is important to look at the long trail of scandals SICPA is involved in no less than 5 countries spread over 4 different continents: Albania, Brazil, Morocco, Philippines and the USA.
So far what we know in Kenya, following hearings held at the National Assembly's Public Investments Committee (PIC) chaired by Eldas MP Adan Keynan, is SICPA was awarded the Excisable Goods Management Systems (EGMS) contract worth some Sh17.8 billion on May 9, 2010, long before the company was registered on May 9, 2013. Under no circumstances such gross violation of basic proper procedures should be tolerated especially in a country like ours where, despite all its ills, the British colonial system left a legacy a proper record keeping!
Following this discovery, the least that should have been done is nullify the contract and open a transparent tender to deliver the needed tax management system Kenya needs. According to Maurice Juma Director General of the government agency responsible for regulation of procurement systems, the Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA), in such situation where key information surfaces after the award of a contract, the tender should be subjected to debarment proceedings. "Under the procurement law, the contract was processed through fraudulent means and it cannot be sustained" Juma said. The chairman of the PIC, Hon Keynan has not hesitated to declare "the Gazette Notice #12856 dated September 5, 2013 which was based on the Legal Notice #110 have no force in law and could therefore not be relied upon to enforce the EGMS solutions".
It is worth noting that SICPA was initially disqualified from the tender process because the Swiss firm did not meet the required standard stipulated in the tender documents. It then appealed through the Public Procurement Review Board (PPRB). Following a thorough review, the PPRB indicated that SICPA did not meet the requirements and that the tender should be awarded to Madras Security Printers.
With such powerful and respected voices, the case should have been settled by now and SICPA declared DOA. It is still a wonder that has not been the case yet. Consequently, the image of our country as one that upholds the rule of law and fights against corruption is suffering whenever the subject is raised.
SICPA's modus operandi in Kenya follows a well-established tradition the firm has experimented around the world and that brought it at the center of high profile investigations in many countries.
In Brazil, for Instance, SICPA's name is cited in the web of scandals that culminated in the impeachment of president Dilma Rousseff. In June 2016, Brazil's Federal Police arrested Marcelo Fisch the former Coordinator general of inspection at the Federal Tax Office for taking bribes in bids and contracts. Fisch was the key person behind hiring SiCPA without a bid in 2008 to implement a Beverage Production Control System known as SICOBE. The latest development in this case was given through Executive Order 75 of October 17, 2016 canceling SICPA's SICOBE contract.
In another high profile controversial case in the European nation of Albania, SICPA was awarded in 2010 an unprecedented 100 year long contract after its sole competitor in the tender, British multinational De La Rue was disqualified for unfounded administrative reasons. The contract was later reduced to 35 years following local media reports of suspicions of bribery and an outcry on the extremely high price of the system proposed.
In the Kingdom of Morocco, a SICPA contract raised concerns when it appeared than the price it was offering for tax stamps were 10 times higher than the price for the same service in Turkey. As the contract was awarded during a pre electoral period, the Swiss firm was suspected of conducting a bribery scheme to fund the incumbent political party for the upcoming elections.
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These cases are not the only ones tarnishing the image of SICPA. Several similar cases of malpractices are widely available for anyone with the desire to conduct a simple desk research on the firm's operations. Why remains to be clear is how and why despite all the scandals attached to its name SICPA was able to set a strong foot in Kenya. These very questions are now being raised in several African countries after the Kenyan delegation showcased the Excisable Goods Management System at the just concluded regional meeting of the World Health Organisation in Algiers. It is high time the leaders of this country dissociate our nation's pride with the wrongdoings of SICPA to avoid a national disgrace as many countries will certainly question the merits of the EGMS.
