- Kemsa has been using leased facilities to store drugs and is now in the process of acquiring its own store worth Sh3 billion.
- Parliament is also investigating the construction of the structure in Nairobi’s Embakasi area.
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Anti-graft officers raided Kenya Medical Supplies Agency offices over suspected procurement irregularities linked to the construction of a Sh3 billion warehouse in Nairobi.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission detectives stormed the Kemsa offices on Tuesday and carted away documents from the agency.
The EACC had asked CEO Jonah Mwangi to supply them with 15 sets of documents it needed to conduct investigations.
EACC boss Twalib Mbarak wrote to Mwangi on June 18 seeking to have tender advertising notices, bank tender documents, all bids submitted by the bidders, tender opening minutes, list of bidders and individual tender evaluation score sheets.
“This commission is conducting investigations into allegations of procurement irregularities at Kemsa in relation to tender KEMSA/CONST/OIT4/2019/20. To facilitate our investigations, kindly furnish us with the original documents relating to the above tender,” said part of the letter to the Kemsa boss.
Kemsa has been using leased facilities to store drugs and is now in the process of acquiring its own store worth Sh3 billion in Nairobi’s Embakasi area.
The warehouse is meant to save the agency millions of shillings in rent. The EACC is also investigating claims of exaggeration of price of items in the local purchase orders (LPOs) for most products.
Sources told the Star detectives from the anti-graft agency spent two hours at Kemsa offices in Industrial Area.
The EACC is pursuing claims that direct procurement is used to award contracts to friendly suppliers who are willing to part with kickbacks.
Parliament is also investigating the construction of the structure in Nairobi’s Embakasi area. MPs have demanded all financial documents pertaining to the warehouse.
In a statement, Mwangi said Kemsa upholds the highest standards of accountability and transparency and all board of directors, management and staff are held to these values.
“As a policy, we are intolerant of corruption in all its forms and treat any proof of such with required severity as proscribed in our manuals,” he said.
Mwangi said he welcomed any further audit or scrutiny towards fostering the culture of transparency in keeping with global best practices. “We are happy to cooperate with all agencies involved towards this,” he added.
He added that Kemsa had put in place robust and tamper-proof systems to manage all warehouses as well as worked closely with the National Police Service, EACC and all other agencies to ensure strict adherence to all laws and protection of its premises, goods and technologies.
Kemsa currently serves 371 hospitals, 4,415 rural health facilities and 5,047 sites that offer rapid testing across Kenya.
Kemsa, which falls under the Ministry of Health, offers procurement, warehousing and distribution services for medical commodities for clients like USAid, World Bank and the Global Fund.
EACC also requested due diligence report, professional opinion, tender award notifications and regrets, acceptance letter from the winning bidders, contract agreements, inspection and acceptance certificates, payment vouchers and appointment letters to committees.
Mwangi said after notifications of award dated December 22, 2017, appeals were lodged against three tenders.
“The appeals against the three tenders were determined in Kemsa’s favour, clearing Kemsa to enter into a contract with contractors for the main works as well as the subcontractors entering into a contract with the main contractor," he said.
Edited by Henry Makori