• Equipment in the MES project was either overpriced, substandard, delivered late or not delivered at all.
• House committee wants investigative agencies to swing into action and have those liable brought to book.
Image: PSCU
The Sh63 billion medical kits project was conceived like a criminal enterprise shrouded in opaque procurement processes and aimed at selfish commercial interests.
This is the verdict of the Senate ad hoc committee that investigated the controversial Managed Equipment Service (MES) programme.
A report tabled on Tuesday by committee chairperson Fatuma Dullo (Isiolo) says though MES was intended to benefit the public, the people involved conceptualised and implemented it in a manner that violated the Constitution and the sacred principles under which it was originally conceived.
The committee noted that the initiators and implementers violated the law. It has, therefore, invited the investigative agencies to probe those charged with the execution of the programme.
“The committee has established that the entire procurement process in the MES project from conceptualisation to its implementation is shrouded in secrecy and smells of irregularities and illegalities,” the report reads.
The report shows the officials manipulated procurement laws, varied contracts and bulldozed county governments into accepting the equipment without proper consultation between the two levels of government.
“The committee recommends that all state officers and public officers who presided over the conceptualisation, conversion and procurement of the MES project be investigated and if found culpable, be barred from holding any state or public office,” the report states.
Further, the committee wants all private entities and persons found culpable in the irregular and illegal procurement and implementation of the project barred from doing any business with both levels of the government.
The project was launched by the national government on February 6, 2015, with the Ministry of Health entering into a partnership with five foreign firms contracted to supply and instal specialised medical equipment.
Transport CS James Macharia and Khadija Kassachoon were in charge of the Ministry as CS and PS respectively at the time the project was rolled out in 2015.
However, the Council of Governors (CoG) had opposed the project, saying county governments were coerced, intimidated and threatened to sanction it. The governors said they were not consulted in the tendering process.
The report shows that even as the taxpayers continue to shoulder the cost, a myriad of challenges continue to surround the lease, with the grave one thus far being the annual payments remitted by counties towards leasing.
County governments pay Sh200 million every year up from Sh95 million in 2014 when the project was first rolled out, following the variation of the contract in 2017.
“The committee noted with concern that this is the only project where conditional grants meant for county governments and appropriated under the County Allocation of Revenue Acts are deducted at the source and transferred to the Ministry of Health instead of being deposited in the respective County Revenue Fund,” the report says.
According to the committee, some of the equipment in the MES project was overpriced, substandard, delivered late or undelivered.
In addition, some equipment was neither inspected nor vetted by relevant government agencies, hence casting doubt on whether the MES project has been felt by Kenyans.
"The cost of the equipment supplied were grossly exaggerated. For instance, the committee observed that the average cost of linen trolleys in the market ranges from Sh5,000 to Sh15,000 depending on quality. However, the indicated direct purchase value of a linen trolley as submitted by the contractor was USD 578 (or Sh58,378 at Sh101 to the USD)," it reads.
Former and current Health Cabinet Secretaries, principal secretaries, the international vendors, sub-contractors, professional bodies and the former Attorney General contradicted one another on major aspects of the deal to the shock of the senators.
However, the Auditor General, Controller of Budget and the CoG shed light on the acts of commission and omission by Health ministry officials.
During the grilling sessions, for instance, witnesses were taken to task over the huge variance and increased allocation but were unable to justify or defend their actions.
A consulting firm that advised the Ministry of Health to lease the equipment was put on the spot for misleading the government.
Strategic Partnership Associates (SPA) Infosuv East Africa Limited that was picked through a restricted tender, in a consortium with audit firm PKF, carried out a value-for-money assessment that informed the ministry’s choice for the MES programme.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) did not, however, inspect the equipment that was imported into the country. Kebs managing director Bernard Njiraini then told the panel that the agency did not have the mandate to test the machines. He said his agency had received a letter from then-Health CS Cleopa Mailu warning them to keep off the equipment.
The Pharmacy and Poisons Board admitted that the equipment supplied to 122 health facilities in 47 counties was neither inspected nor given a clean bill of health before being commissioned. This means patients have been using renal dialysis and X-ray machines, among other equipment, that have not been certified as medical risk-free.
In other recommendations, the committee has asked the office of the Auditor General to swiftly undertake a forensic audit and report back to the Senate within six months from the date of resolution of the Senate on the report.