Kenya Medical Supplies Authority is on the spot after drugs worth Sh105 million either expired or were damaged in its stores.
A 2017-18 report by Auditor General Edward Ouko tabled in Parliament last week said the authority could not sell the drugs worth Sh150, 423,159 during the year.
“No explanation has been provided for stocking expired or damaged drugs. Consequently, the accuracy and validity of the balance of the net sale of Sh709, 435, 073 could not be ascertained,” reads the report.
The wastage is an indictment to the authority as most county and referral hospitals are running without medical supplies.
In Nairobi, for instance, county-owned facilities have operated for more than a year now without new medical supplies.
The authority declined to supply the facilities due to more than Sh250 million debt owed by the county government.
According to the report, Kemsa is owed Sh3.4 billion by the counties and the Ministry of Health.
Counties owe the authority Sh2.3 billion for its facilities while the Ministry of Health is yet to clear Sh1 billion for the referral hospitals.
The debt dates back to 2016 and with the auditor casting doubts on authority's ability to recover the amount
“No explanation has been provided for failing to recover these long-standing debts,” Ouko said in the report.
Ouko also flagged some Sh1.6 million paid out to four board members as sitting and lunch allowances during the year under review.
He said that there were no documents to support the payout thus raising doubts on the validity of the payments.
“Consequently, the validity of sitting and lunch allowance expenses totalling to Sh1,660,999 paid to the four board members could not be confirmed for the year ended June 30, 2018,” read the report.
(Edited by O. Owino)
