The Kenyan government has yet another time lost a substantial amount of money through the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa).
Yesterday, while he was being interviewed by the National Assembly Committee on Health, the Kemsa acting CEO Edward Njoroge admitted to the house that a good chunk of the PPEs has already expired at their stores in Industrial Area.
Mr. Njoroge said that Personal protective equipment (PPEs) worth Sh790 million held by the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) at their warehouse has expired.
This comes hot on the heels of yet another yet-to-be concluded procurement scandal case that roped in senior government officials – as the beneficiaries of the Ksh7.8 billion loot.
While trying to shield himself from the blame, Mr. Njoroge said that the protective gears got expired when the medical supplies body was still waiting for the cabinet to give a green light on the disbursement of the PPEs to the respective outlets for public consumption.
“After getting Cabinet approval to dispose of the PPEs, we found out that items worth Sh790 million have expired. But we are assessing to see if some of the items can still be used,” said Mr. Njoroge.
In the first scandal, that involved the Kemsa, there were a lot of procurement laws that were not followed, which later came to be a huge scandal totaling Sh7.8 billion – that saw some powerful individuals in Uhuru Kenyatta’s kitchen cabinet christened as ‘Covid billionaires’.
The agency is said to have procured N95 (1860) masks at Sh1, 300 apiece against the market price of Sh700. It ordered 5,000 pieces. It bought KN95 masks at Sh700 apiece against the market price of Sh450. It was supplied with 1,836,400 masks while disposable masks were bought for Sh90 a piece against the market price of Sh50.
The acting CEO however said that they would see if there are a few PPEs that would still be salvaged, and be used in the country’s efforts to combat the coronavirus.
Related: How Kemsa Dished Out Sh4bn Deals Through Phone Calls
