The Roads and Civil Engineering Contractors Association ( RACECA) also wants the ceiling on exclusive tendering reserved for local firms of Sh500 million removed.
The contractors claim that the Public Procurement and disposal (Preference and Reservations) Regulations 2011 that set the exclusive maximum tender was enacted without consultation of the stakeholders contrary to the Constitution.
“A declaration that roads and civil engineering works that are fully funded by the Government of Kenya should only be awarded to local and citizen contractors,” Raceca Treasurer Paramji Singh Virdi stated in an affidavit.
The regulations were aimed at promoting domestic contractors and fostering socio-economic development.
The contractors’ say the limit does not take into consideration economic growth, inflation and their capacity to execute projects costing more than Sh5 billion.
The association claims Ministry of Roads' officials had refused to review the regulations.
It further claims that the government was tendering for road construction without giving exclusive preferences to them.
“In the past year most contracts for road construction works advertised (by government) have been awarded to foreign contractors to the detriment of local and citizen contractors who have the proven capacity and financial resources,” says the association.
The association said most of the foreign contractors were foreign state enterprises which enjoy subsidies that enable them to undercut local firms during bidding.
“RACECA employs well over 100,000 Kenyans and if the situation is not reversed and thresholds of exclusive preferences’ increased, citizen contractors will be forced to wind up their business,” the affidavit said.
Most of the mega road projects in Kenya over the last decade have been done by Chinese companies as part of the conditions for Beijing financing the projects.
- Business Daily
