Author: Saada Hassan
AfricaPress-Kenya: Health CS Mutahi Kagwe appearing before Parliament Health Committee on Monday insisted that the probe into KEMSA Scandal was an initiative done by the ministry who invited the investigation agencies.
According to the CS, before any disbursement of money, the categorization of how the amount is supposed to be utilized is done unless if it comes directly from the treasury. “In terms of accountability yes we hold ourselves accountable for it.
We send money with instructions, and then it is followed by audits. Specifically, audits by the Treasury, because you cannot be the person sending the money, and also the person accounting for it yourself, “said the CS. However, the CS lacked clarity when questioned on why masks have not been distributed to Kenyans five months into the pandemic.
“On the issue of masks, this is not money that has been spent. We are torn between two things sometimes, the need for accountability and the need to track expenditures.
One of the things we are trying to do with the masks is to ensure that we don’t just give it to massive companies. We want this money to be disbursed and spent at the tailors at the county levels. So it takes time to get KEBS to say yes then we must have a very clear accounting procedure,” he argued.
According to the Health Permanent Secretary, Susan Mochache, so far only 1.5 billion shillings for testing kits and 300 million for masks were sent to KEMSA. “The treasury has already sent auditors to counties who are currently going around to see how the funds have been utilized.
KEMSA is audited by the Auditor general and when they are specific programs the ministry asks its internal auditors to find out if things are being done in a correct manner with the funds provided.”
This comes at a time when officials of the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa) have been suspended from the agency.
The CEO alongside directors Eliud Muriithi (Commercial) and Charles Juma (Procurement) was asked to step aside after a special meeting to allow the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to complete investigations on Covid-19 procurement irregularities and alleged misuse of funds.
