President William Ruto while speaking to journalists at State House Nairobi on Sunday, May 14 night vowed to clean up Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) with whatever it takes.
The head of state said he had started looking at the problems in Kemsa.
“I am doing something about it. You will see the results. I want to give you my commitment, I will clean up KEMSA, whatever it takes, whatever it costs,” he said.
This comes after several cases of corruption and mismanagement in Kemsa continue to make headlines.
Moreover, the first case was about Sh7 billion meant to buy personal protective equipment (PPE) and other essentials at the health facilities during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The funding allegedly ended up in the pockets of a few well-connected individuals who were dubbed ‘Covid Millionaires’.
Likewise, Kemsa is in the spotlight once again over the Sh3.7 billion mosquito net deal. As such, the country may lose Sh3.7 billion after the failed tender for the supply of treated mosquito nets.
As a result, millions of low-income households are at risk of contracting Malaria a deadly disease that kills an estimated 12,000 people yearly in Kenya.
Also Read: ‘You Have Taught Me Loyalty’ – President Ruto to CS Duale
Global Fund had presented a tender that could have seen Kemsa collect a total of Sh370 million in revenue through warehousing and transport logistics.
Nonetheless, the Global Fund canceled the tender over irregularities in the procurement process which they argue was skewed in favour of one of the bidders.
Conversely, while defending the failed mosquito nests procurement tender, Kemsa chief executive officer Terry Ramadhani stated that the two companies; Shobikaa Impex and Partec East Africa Ltd, were the most qualified suppliers.
The two companies had been pre-qualified for the Sh3.7 billion tender but were disqualified by Global Fund on grounds they had failed to meet the documentation requirements.
