Eva Nyambura 
A special audit by the Auditor General Nancy Gathangu tabled before a Senate committee revealed that the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) management colluded with companies that won the lucrative tenders.
The auditor noted that some of the companies were established between January and February this year.
This, the Auditor General said, points to possible collusion.
“We established circumstances where Companies that had been in existence for less than one year, were awarded contracts to supply Covid-19 e.g Kilig Ltd and Shop ‘N’ Buy Ltd were registered on January 22, 2020, and February 14 2020 yet they were awarded contracts,” Gathangu said.
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The report shows that the Kenyan taxpayer stands to lose Sh2.3 billion should the state agency sell the equipment at the current market price.
According to Ms Gathangu, the Sh6.3 billion equipment is still lying idle in the authority’s warehouses.
The report also shows that the Kemsa management used monies meant for the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for the procurement of the equipment without the approval of the Ministry of Health.
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“During the period under review, Kemsa irregularly utilised Universal Health Coverage and Capital Budget to procure Covid-19 related items worth Sh7,632,068,588 without evidence of approval of the budgets by relevant authorities,” she said.
“The procurement process was not initiated based on need assessment and planning resulting in over procurement of Covid-19 related stock worth Sh6.3 billion that is still being held at Kemsa warehouses.”
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