Kisumu Governor Prof Anyang' Nyong'o and his Deputy Governor Mathew Owili at a past event. [Photo/ nation.co.ke]

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The County Government of Kisumu has defended the Sh99.5 million bitumen road tender awarded to former Mwea MP Alfred Nderitu. According to the Kisumu County Deputy Governor Mathews Owili, Nderitu won the tender based on his qualifications.Local civil engineering companies in Kisumu and the public had earlier faulted the procedure followed in awarding of the tender, saying that they were sidelined, a claim the deputy governor has since denied.The Sh99.5 million bitumen road tender is part of the Sh4.5 billion Kisumu Urban Projects which is partly funded by the French government.Owili said the county only received three bids from Nairobi, adding that Kisumu was not represented in the bids. The companies that sent their applications include Ascoda General Contractors, Pepeta Holdings, and Tosha Construction Engineering.“The three firms were evaluated on their technical grounding from December 2016 to January 4, 2017," said the deputy governor."One firm, Pepeta, was knocked out at this stage for technical non-responsiveness with the remaining other two proceeding to the financial evaluation. Ascoda with a bid of Sh99,489,639 emerged the winner. A notification of award thereby followed on May 2, 2017,” he added.The contract was awarded during the first county government’s regime under the leadership of Governor Jack Ranguma.