Tender for proposed acquisition of firewall licenses for Data Centre, Biashara Ward, Nakuru East - Nakuru County Government

What is being bought

Nakuru County Government requests tenders for the proposed acquisition of firewall licenses for its data centre in Biashara Ward, Nakuru East Sub-County, under tender CGN/EIEPC/ONT/004/2026-2027. The reviewed price schedule lists a firewall appliance (1U rackmount), a 3-year Unified Threat Protection licence with 24/7 premium support, deployment, knowledge transfer and project management.

Key facts

Closing

Tue 3 Nov 2026, 10:00 am
Closing for submission of tenders at the Tender Box or to The County Secretary, Nakuru. D2 p.5

Bid / tender security

Tender security of Kshs 20,000 in form of a bank guarantee (ITT notice, bank guarantee or insurance guarantee), valid for 30 days beyond the tender validity period. Conflicting D1

Tender fee

Tender documents may be obtained free of charge from the county website, supplier portal or tenders.go.ke. D2 p.5

Site visit

Optional
Pre-tender site visit: not applicable. D2 p.32

Pre-bid meeting

Optional
Pre-tender conference: not applicable. D2 p.32

Reserved for

Not reserved. The tender is open to all eligible bidders with no reservations or preference. D2 p.33

Contract value

Not stated in the documents we reviewed Not stated P

Tender opening

Tenders opened in public at the 1st floor Board Room, County Government Headquarters, Moi Road, Nakuru, in presence of bidders' representatives who attend. D2 p.33

Tender validity

Tender valid for 210 days from the date of opening of tenders. D2 p.33

Who can apply

• Open to all qualified and interested tenderers (open competitive method, national). No reservation to youth, women, persons with disabilities or AGPO groups. D2 p.5

Application checklist

Tick items off as you prepare. Your ticks stay on this device only.

Required from every bidder

• Certificate of incorporation or business registration from the Registrar of Companies (certified copy). D2 p.37
• Valid copy of current Certificate of Tax Compliance from KRA, valid at least on the closing date of the tender. D2 p.37
• Form of tender completed, duly signed and stamped in the format provided. D2 p.37
• Duly filled, signed and stamped confidential business questionnaire. D2 p.37
• Certified CR12 for the directors of the company, or National ID for sole proprietorship, valid for the last 12 months. D2 p.37
• Certified current valid business permit (year 2026). D2 p.37
• Form SD1 - Debarment Declaration, duly filled and signed, confirming the tenderer is not debarred under PPADA 2015. D2 p.37
• Form SD2 - Anti-Corruption Declaration, duly filled and signed. D2 p.37
• Compliance with technical specifications of the proposed equipment; attach pictorials, catalogues or brochures. The notice wording refers to a skip bin, which appears to be a template error. D2 p.37
• Tender documents must be submitted in both soft (through IFMIS supplier portal) and hard copies in the manner described in the Invitation Notice. D2 p.37
• All pages paginated, initialled and stamped on every page, serialized 1,2,3... from first to last page. D2 p.37
• Tax Clearance Certificate or tax exemption certificate from KRA (Kenyan tenderers) as qualification requirement. D2 p.43
• Proof of power of attorney, as the written confirmation of authorization to sign for the tenderer. D2 p.33
• Pricing: Price schedule must be completed in Kenya Shillings and be VAT inclusive. D2 p.64

Required only in some situations

• Manufacturer authorization letters for major items the tenderer did not manufacture, showing authority to supply and install in Kenya. D2 p.45

Experience, licences and financial capacity

Technical

• Mandatory: compliance with technical specifications of the firewall licences and appliance as set out in the Section V requirements; detailed technical specifications were not in the reviewed pages. Not stated D2 p.37
• Specific experience: annual volume of supplies done for Kshs 2 million and above in the past 3 years (2023-2025), scored up to 20 marks, with evidence (LPO/LSO, award, contract or completion certificate). D2 p.38
• Only bidders scoring 70% and above in technical evaluation proceed to financial evaluation. D2 p.39
• Commit in writing to provide the e-mail solution service (letter for all items) and manufacturer authorization letters with technical specifications (15 marks). These appear to come from a different template and should be checked with the procuring entity. D2 p.39

Financial

• Financial evaluation: the bidder that qualifies technically with the lowest financial quote is recommended for award. A bidder qualifies on only one lot. D2 p.40
• Audited accounts or other financial statements for the last years (number of years not specified in the reviewed pages), and minimum average annual turnover (amount not specified). Scoring allocated for certified bank statements and audited accounts for 2024 and 2025. Not stated D2 p.44

How and where to submit

• Submit completed tender in plain sealed envelopes marked with tender description and reference number, deposited in the Tender Box at Moi Road, County Government Headquarters Ground Floor Entrance, or addressed to The County Secretary, County Government of Nakuru, P.O Box 2780-20100, Moi Road, Nakuru. D2 p.5
• Tender must be submitted manually (hard copy). Electronic tendering is listed in the notice but the TDS says tenderers shall submit manually and electronic submission shall not be applicable. Conflicting D2 p.33
• Hard copies and soft copy must be submitted; the complete serialized tender document in hard and soft copy. D1 p.3
• Number of copies: original plus 1 copy. D2 p.33
• Late tenders will be rejected and returned unopened. D2 p.6

Lots and categories

• Single lot tender; the price schedule is not split into lots in the reviewed pages. Not stated D2 p.40

What the addenda changed

• No addenda were provided in the reviewed material. Not stated P

Not covered in the documents we reviewed

• Full technical specifications for the firewall licences and appliance (Section V / Procuring Entity requirements were not in the reviewed pages).
• Financial qualification values: years of audited accounts, minimum average annual turnover, and cash-flow amount.
• Contract value or budget.
• Lot structure confirmation and any addenda.
• Confidential business questionnaire and other standard forms beyond those reviewed.
• Performance security requirement details beyond ITT 48.1 wording.
• Whether electronic submission through the portal is accepted (conflicting statements).

Terms explained

Tender security

Money guarantee submitted with the bid to show seriousness; forfeited if the bidder withdraws or fails to sign the contract.

TDS

Tender Data Sheet: the section with tender-specific values that override the standard Instructions to Tenderers.

MR

Mandatory Requirement: a yes/no test at preliminary examination; failing one makes the bid non-responsive.

Responsive

A bid that meets all mandatory requirements and terms of the tender documents.

AGPO

Affirmative action groups (youth, women, persons with disability) that may be given reserved tenders; not applicable here.

Tender validity

Period the bid must remain open for acceptance, counted from tender opening.

CR12

Company return of allotment/shareholding document from the Registrar of Companies listing directors.

Power of Attorney

Written authority allowing a person to sign and commit the tenderer.