Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) management was grilled over irregular tendering processes, including waiver of bills for patients raised in the Auditor-Generals report of financial year 2016/2017.
On Thursday, November 23, the hospital’s management led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Wilson Aruasa appeared before the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee.
In a statement, the Committee raised concerns over the hospital’s request for a waiver of Ksh.2.5 billion owed to them by patients.
Besides, the Committee noted that the management did not provide evidence to prove that the Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Susan Nakhumicha approved the said waivers.
However, Dr. Aruasa said there are patients who are unable to pay their bills and the MTRH management committee does background checks of such patients.
“These patients are only supposed to pay Ksh.2.5 million to MTRH. We now wait for the CS and Treasury to engage Parliament for a waiver approval”, replied to Dr. Aruasa.
Patients Monitors
Further, the Committee Members raised concerns over irregular procurement of eight patients’ monitors.
It was pointed out that an amount of Ksh.17.6 million had been used to acquire the said monitors with full payment done after delivery.
However, information available at the time of audit showed that the monitors were not procured through open tender and there was no valid contract signed between the hospital and the supplier for audit.
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In his response to the Committee, Julius Oraro the Deputy Supplies Chain Manager told the Committee that there was an urgent need for the monitors, forcing them to use the initial supplier for the previous financial year.
“Hon. Chair an advertisement for two monitors was placed but it happened that at the time we were expanding our ICU’s, there were two awards from the tender committee: one for the two monitors and another for future awards.
This was a framework contract since the expansion of ICU was complete. We did a subsidiary purchase order (LPO) for the Ksh.17 million, and there were two award schedules,” Oraro explained.
CT Scan Machine
Additionally, the MPs raised issues with the irregular procurement of a 16-slice CT scan machine worth Ksh.52 million.
According to the report, the hospital’s tender committee sat on June 5, 2015, and awarded a tender for the supply, delivery and installation of the machine at the said amount.
However, the hospital management cited lack of funds and opted to buy the machine on hire purchase arrangement with the supplier at a cost of Ksh.64.7 million.
On this, the Committee questioned why management ignored the signed contract and went for hire purchase which was of a higher value and without approval.
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Maragua lawmaker Mary Wamaua also questioned why other Kenyans were not considered if indeed an advert was done to consider hire purchase module.
“The interested tendeprenuers must have been following this, Chair. Goal posts were changed at the end of the exercise and no legal suit was raised.
This sounds suspicious, Chair. It’s likely that the same person who had won the Ksh.52 million tenders, later looked at hire purchase terms and was given the option since it had more money”, reiterated Wamaua.
In addition, the Committee noted that this is an issue of policy and governance that needs to be looked into.
Other issues include the irregular payment of allowances, budget performance, over-expenditure, and unbalanced ethnic composition.
Also, the Committee called on the management to strive to achieve ethnic balance as advised by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission.
