Youths in Nakuru County have raised concerns over what they term is huge amount charged in form of bid bonds as security for their tenders.
A bid bond is issued as part of a supply bidding process by the contractor to the project owner, to provide guarantee, that the winning bidder will undertake the contract under the terms at which they bid.
According to them, the amount charged is huge and some youths cannot afford the bid security hence losing out on tenders.
Through Nakuru County Youth and Governance Chair Daniel Kimani, the youths have called on the county government of Nakuru through the Procurement department to revoke the bid security for youths.
He says this will enable the youths to participate fully in governance matters as they will be able to win tenders and support the Big 4 agenda.
Addressing media in Nakuru on Saturday morning, the Youth leader said that last year the bid bonds were not there but youths who got tenders and contracts in the County government of Nakuru were able to deliver.
He wondered why the county government has decided to introduce the bid bonds this year which he says is a hindrance to youths’ economic empowerment.
The youths are now appealing to the county government of Nakuru to revoke the bid bonds for the youths, women and PWDs.
“We are calling on the County executive as well as the county assembly to ensure that they remove the requirement of bid bonds for youths, women and PWDs” said Kimani.
While reiterating the youths’ support towards the county government of Nakuru, Kimani said if the bid bonds will continue to be in place then the youths, women and PWDs will be locked out of the tenders and contracts.
This, he says will not mean good for the development of Nakuru County and the nation at large as far as the Big 4 agenda is concerned.
“As youths we have been playing our part in supporting the government and that is why we now call on governor to play his part and ensure the bid bonds which are obstacle are removed” said Kimani.
Retired President Mwai Kibaki in 2012 announced that 10 per cent of the value of all government contracts should be allocated to the youth with an aim to help tackle spiraling levels of unemployment.
The move was informed by the government’s realization that to meaningfully address the issue of youth joblessness, it was necessary to give young people opportunities to benefit from these lucrative tenders.
And in 2013, procurement rules were further amended to allow 30 per cent of all government contracts to be given to three special interest groups, the youth, women and the disabled in what was known as Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO).
In order to access government procurement opportunities, the youth, must register a business as a sole proprietorship, partnership, a limited company or a co-operative.
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