•Whereas MPs said they have a list showing the company was not a prequalified Kemsa supplier, Molly maintained that her firm was in the list.
A Kemsa supplier walked her way to a Sh180 million tender after a call from an anonymous client who wanted her firm Bennet Ventures to supply them with bulk quantities of face masks. https://bit.ly/3pWvJCf
A Kemsa supplier walked her way to a Sh180 million tender after a call from an anonymous client who wanted her firm Bennet Ventures to supply them with bulk quantities of face masks.
Molly Cheruto told the National Assembly Public Investments Committee on Friday that the call was from among many enquiries to her company at that time.
She said the call spoke of a friend of his whom had secured an order from Kemsa for bulk supply of masks, hence sparked her interest out of which she got a tender to supply 40,000 masks.
Molly told MPs that since there was shortage of masks, and she was equally on a hunt for the same, she visited a go-down where Chinese importers had stocked supplies.
She however could not explain to the committee chaired by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir how she knew of the Kemsa suppliers and whether she was a prequalified Kemsa supplier.
Whereas MPs said they have a list showing the company was not a prequalified supplier, Molly maintained that her firm was in the list.
Armed with information from the caller, the supplier said she wrote letter of intent to Kemsa and attached a sample which she left with the medicals authority officials.
Molly said she wrote a letter on April 15 and received a letter of commitment 14 days later, after she was called by Kemsa to confirm if she could deliver fast.
MPs cast doubt on the supplier’s account of events, further questioning how she raised money for the supplies as her company’s turnover was less than Sh5 million in 2019.
In another twist to the whole saga, her company Bennet was paid the whole Sh180 million, a chunk of which – about Sh160 million, went to Shop n Buy which is also under probe.
Molly explained that the payment was for goods she sourced from Shop n Buy on credit, having entered into an informal agreement with the firm’s director James Cheluley to be a signatory to her accounts.
Cheluley was before the committee on Tuesday where he was probed on how he secured a Sh1.3 billion tender at Kemsa in a day.
Bennet has also done business with Kenya Airports Authority (Sh1 million); private sector; pharmacists; KMPDU (Sh450,000) and the Nursing Council.
“What was so special about Bennet that you got a call from anonymous number, got the tender and is already paid,” Nairobi Woman MP Esther Passaris asked.
Nassir raised concerns that the supplier neither imported a single item nor filed monthly returns to Kenya Revenue Authority.
“We wonder how a firm with no technical capacity; not subjected to evaluation got such a contract. Who told you of the tenders at Kemsa?” Nassir asked.
“What is special that you had to be paid the whole amount,” Embakasi East MP Babu Owino.
Lawmakers further asked how the supplier was issued with a commitment letter yet the procurement office had stopped the use of such letters.