Corrupt tenderpreneurs were issued with Sh3.9 billion worth of Covid-19 supplies through phone calls in a well-planned scheme that saw taxpayers’ money siphoned into a few people’s pockets as the health sector was left to grappled with a severe shortage of life-saving equipment.
Other well-connected people just walked into the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) doors in Nairobi and signed contracts worth billions, a Parliamentary committee was told yesterday, revealing fresh details of how the Kemsa saga was executed.
Addressing the committee, Kemsa told MPS that the tender advertisement for the Covid-19 equipment was not put to the public as most firms were awarded contracts worth million after their directors got phone calls from “senior officials.”
The Kemsa acting chief executive Edward Njoroge also revealed that most companies that were awarded the contracts were not pre-qualified and did not feature the agency’s procurement database.
According to the state procurement rule, companies must be pre-qualified before being awarded a tender.
Mr. Njoroge also revealed that Kemsa is broke and does not have any coin in its bank account as the multibillion-shilling saga continues.
Addressing the committee, the authority’s procurement manager, Edward Buluma that most of the companies that sold the Covid-19 equipment to Kemsa were not the pre-qualified suppliers.
“Most of these companies were called to supply. There was no advertisement for the tenders,” Buluma said.
He however did not mention the alleged callers.
Previously Ministry of Health officials was accused of issuing phone instructions to Kemsa managers to award tenders to their surrogate firms.
Buluma told the committee that some individuals walked in at Kemsa headquarters to check if the agency needed Covid-19 equipment and later walked out with tenders worth millions of shillings.
Nyeri Woman Rep, Rahab Mukami, questioned how, for instance, SHop ‘N’ Buy Ltd, a company registered on February 14, 2020, was contracted by Kemsa to deliver Covid-19 materials worth Sh900 million.
“How were these tenders given, or were they just given to friends?” Mukami asked.
The lawmakers also asked how Kilig Ltd, established on January 22 even before Africa reported its first case of Colvid-19 infection, was awarded a tender to supply PPEs worth Sh9 million.
According to the Auditor General’s report, at least four firms were awarded contracts worth Sh1.3 billion to deliver items that were not covered by Kemsa’s 2019/20 approved budget as of June 4, 2020.
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Others firm mentioned by the Auditor general is Nanopay Limited that was registered on August 22, 2019, which supplied KN95 Facemasks costing Sh350 million. The firm supplied the items and was received its payment on August 6, 2020.
The report revealed that the firms had no financial track record or capacity to deliver, but was however selected to supply the Covid-19 materials.
