- Mbarak said the Kemsa board has the power not to reinstate the suspended officials based on its recommendations.
- Health cabinet secretary Susan Nakhumicha suspended CEO Terry Ramadhan alongside other staff members.
Image: Kenya Editors Guild
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) cleared suspended Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) officials of any graft charges in the Sh3.7 billion Global Fund mosquito nets tender mess.
Agency’s CEO Twalib Mbarak on Wednesday in an interview on Citizen TV said that its investigation however revealed there was an attempt to breach procurement laws but no money was lost in the process.
“We have concluded the KEMSA case and we have established that it was an attempt to do some shoddy work and it came to the attention of the public and EACC on time,” he said.
According to Mbarak, its findings found that some procurement procedures were not followed and that there was a plan to award a tender using shortcuts and not the procurement process.
He, however, said they have since made some administrative recommendations to Kemsa as a remedy to deter similar happenings in the future.
Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha suspended CEO Terry Ramadhan alongside other staff members serving within the Ministry of Health, National Malaria Programme and Kemsa on May 15.
Those suspended were Martin Wamwea, Lenson Kariuki, Pauline Duya, Livingstone Njuguna, and Charles Kariuki Chege who were serving under the MoH National Malaria programme.
Mbarak added that the Kemsa board has the power not to reinstate the suspended officials based on its recommendations.
President William Ruto also suspended former Public Health and Professional Standards principal secretary Josephine Mburu.
The CS appointed Andrew Mutava Mulwa as the acting CEO.
The suspension of the officials came after the Global Fund canceled Kemsa’s procurement process, which appeared to favour a bidder who did not meet the mandatory requirements.
Kemsa had picked two firms as qualified to be awarded the tender before Global Fund terminated the process citing irregularities.
A total of 17 firms submitted their bids for the tenders for the supply of treated mosquito nets made of both polyethylene and polyester.
The Global Fund records show that the tender evaluation excluded the only company, China’s Tianjin Yorkool, that met all the required conditions under both Kenyan and Global Fund procurement laws and guidelines.
The tender was in respect of the 12,616,883 Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) which were to be distributed in 22 counties.
The nets were to be distributed from November this year to July next year as part of the mass malaria campaign.