Controversial medical equipment project back in Senate as Kingi okays fresh inquiry

The controversial multibillion shilling medical equipment project is back in the Senate as Speaker Amason Kingi has approve fresh inquiry into the programme.

The probe comes barely three years after senators rejected a report by an adhoc committee that had investigated the Medical Equipment Service (MES) programme for more than a year.

MES involved leasing of assorted medical equipment by the State for use in select national and county governments hospitals.

Many governors said the contract was vague and shoved down their  throats. 

In the fresh investigation, which has been pushed by Nominated Senator Hamida Kibwana, the Senate’s Health committee will inquire into its status.

“The committee should provide an update on the status of the MES leased to counties,” Kibwanasaid in the statement approved by Kingi.

The contract for the project was signed in 2015 for a period of seven years. As such, the contract expired last December but it’s unclear if the counties signed to renew the contracts.

In the probe, the nine-member committee chaired by Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago will detail the terms and nature of the contract and the costs involved.

The cost of the project has been at the centre of the controversy.

When the project was first signed in 2015, the contract cost was Sh38 billion but the contract was reviewed all the way and the amount increased to Sh63 billion under unclear circumstances.

This has led to fluctuations of the amounts the counties have been paying for the project.

In the deal, the Ministry was supposed to deduct a fixed sum of Sh90 million annually from each of the 47 counties.

At some point, each county was required to pay Sh200 million every year for the project.

In the next financial year, the government has Sh5.9 billion translating to Sh125.53 billion per county.

The Health committee will also determine whether the national government would give more funding to the counties to cover the fluctuating costs.

The committee will also establish the amount each county has been paying every month since the contract was signed.

“The committee should give the criteria used by the contractors to come up with the amount the counties should pay per month,” she stated.

The panel will establish the viability of the contract and whether the terms of the contract might threaten the continuity of the project.

The implementation of the project has been a matter of controversy since the project was rolled out.

Governors have especially criticised the Ministry of Health for coercing them to sign the contracts for the supply of the equipment.

They claimed the ministry did not conduct feasibility studies in the counties prior to the roll out.

This has resulted to some equipment lying in boxes for years for lack of electricity in some health facilities and skilled workers to operate them.

In their report, the ad hoc committee which has probed the contract, said: “The committee has established the entire procurement process in the MES project from conceptualisation to its implementation is shrouded in secrecy and smells of irregularities and illegalities."

The report showed the officials manipulated procurement laws, varied contracts and bulldozed county governments into accepting the equipment without proper consultation between the two levels of government.

However, the report was rejected on the floor as a majority of the senators voted against it, saying the committee had not identified specific individuals who bungled the programme.

(Edited by V. Graham)