Members of Parliament (MPs) on Wednesday moved to have the company conducting Huduma Namba registration blacklisted from conducting business in Kenya.
The MPs were debating a report tabled by the Public Accounts Committee which vetted IDEMIA and contrary to their own assessment, allowed it to bid for the Huduma Namba tender.
Parliament noted that the company was involved in alleged procurement malpractice during the 2017 General Election and were surprised that government was still involved in business with the company.
French Firm not registered as a business in Kenya
Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma noted that the company is not registered to conduct business in Kenya.
He added that it has also not adhered to pre-qualifications that require any international company bidding for a government tender should have at least one Kenyan as a shareholder and a local representative.
Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo supported Kaluma adding that the company had also violated provisions of the Companies Act.
Majority Leader Aden Duale added: "Companies that do business in Kenya must be ready to follow our laws, otherwise they will get into corruption and unethical behaviour, and they don't employ our people.
"They [IDEMIA] must do business ethically, the same way they do in France," he stated.
The action passed by Parliament reads: "Pursuant to provisions of Section 41 of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2015, the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority investigates within 60 days the conduct of Idemia Securities Ltd and if it finds the company culpable, enters the name of the company in the central repository of debarred firms and ensures that the firm is precluded from participating or entering into any kind of procurement contract."