- This was after revelations that the devolved units blew billions received from the state and other partners but did little to improve the facilities.
- Speaker Amason Kingi has cleared the investigations that could put the governors and their top finance, procurement and health officials on the spot.
Image: NCCG
Senators have launched investigations into the expenditure of millions of shillings disbursed to the devolved units during the Covid-19 pandemic to upgrade ICU facilities.
This was after revelations that the devolved units blew billions received from the state and other partners but did little to improve the facilities.
Speaker Amason Kingi has cleared the investigations that could put the governors and their top finance, procurement and health officials on the spot.
In the probe being conducted by the Senate’s Health Committee, the panel seeks to expose the amount of money the counties received to expand the Intensive Care Units (ICUs).
“The committee should state the amount of funding and disburse for upgrading of ICU facilities in county hospitals to deal with Covid-19 cases,” Marsabit senator Mohamed Chute said.
The investigations will also disclose the counties that benefitted from the funding and the facilities they improved.
A report by the controller of the budget released in 2021 revealed that the devolved units received Sh13.1 billion to fight the scourge.
“Of these, Sh5 billion from the national government through the ministry of health was to be utilized towards quarantine and isolation expenditure, another Sh2.36 billion for allowances for frontline health workers,” the COB’s report stated.
Some Sh5.39 billion came from the county's own sources while Sh350 million was advanced by Denmark’s development corporation (Danida).
The money was meant for procurement of protective gear, setting up of isolation centres, equipping of health facilities and payment of health care workers among others.
However, the report by COB Margaret Nyakangó revealed that most counties spent the cash on non-essentials such as the purchase of lubricants and TV screens.
A separate audit report released by auditor general Nancy Gathungu exposed massive plunder of the funds that were meant to fight the pandemic.
The distortions were widespread across all the 47 devolved units, smelling of loss of hard-earned taxpayers’ money.
Most devolved units spent the cash without approved budgets, work, training or procurement plans.
In the probe, the committee seeks to establish the number of county hospitals that have completed the construction of ICU facilities.
In the report, Gathungu cited several violations and recommended to the DCI and EACC to probe at least 27 counties.
The report revealed that the counties flaunted procurement laws, awarded tenders to select firms and made questionable payments where billions of taxpayer money may have been lost.
They include Embu, Homa Bay, Murang'a, Busia, Kakamega, Meru, Bomet, Kisii, Bungoma, Nairobi (Nairobi Metropolitan Service), Trans Nzoia and Lamu.
The panel chaired by Uasin Gishu senator Jackson Mandago will provide the number of ICU bed capacities completed so far, completion levels for those underway and estimated completion dates.
“The committee should state the specific equipment and supplies which have been purchased using the funds allocated for ICU upgrades in county hospitals, disclosing the amounts spent,” Chute said.
The investigation also seeks to establish whether there are plans to monitor the ongoing construction and report the progress of the ICU upgrades in the county hospitals.
“The committee should state the number of hospitals which received oxygen plants, disclosing their distribution in the counties,” Chute said.
Nandi senator Samson Cherargei backed the probe.
"This investigation is timely. Many people in our counties took advantage of the pandemic to enrich themselves," he said.