A consignment of personal protective equipment (PPE) worth Ksh2.9 billion lies in the stores of the Kenya Medical Supplies Agencies (Kemsa) without proper documentation, the agency has revealed.
This was revealed on Tuesday before the parliamentary Public Investment Committee (PIC) by Kemsa finance director Waiganjo Karanja, who said that they are not going to pay for the PPEs delivered to them.
Karanja and Kemsa procurement manager Edward Buluma told legislators that most of the commitment letters given to suppliers were drafted in the office of the suspended CEO Jonah Manjari. It also emerged that the CEO bypassed the procurement office, leading to several procurement flaws.
Read: CS Kagwe Directs Kemsa To Sell PPEs, Masks At Current Market Price
“Mr chairman, I will not authorise any payment for any goods that don’t have proper documentation,” Mr Karanja told the team led by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir.
As of April 2020, Kemsa had issued commitment letters to suppliers worth Ksh5.4 billion, but only Ksh169 million equipment had been delivered.
Most companies awarded tenders were neither pre-qualified nor in the Kemsa’s database.
Also, it emerged that most suppliers delivered their stock past the deadline, despite a board meeting resolving to cancel the tenders in April.
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