Counties are supporting a Bill in the Senate that will remove the monopoly of the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (see P7). Counties could then purchase drugs from any supplier so long as they had cleared outstanding debts with Kemsa.
However central government seems determined to keep Kemsa alive and is presently restructuring it.
The arguments in favour of Kemsa are that centralised purchasing of medical drugs ensures quality control and provides price savings through bulk purchase. Sometimes monopolies can be beneficial.
The counter argument is that counties claim that they could purchase drugs for their hospitals at lower prices than Kemsa offers. Moreover, Kemsa seems cursed by corruption. The DPP is still investigating Sh7.8 billion in Covid-related expenditure by Kemsa.
A free-for-all is obviously not desirable. Suppliers could make huge windfall profits supplying counties with cheap counterfeit drugs. Quality could quickly deteriorate.
But lack of competition breeds complacency and corruption.
So perhaps government should allow a second agency, possibly run and managed by the private sector, to start purchasing and supplying medical drugs in competition with Kemsa.
Then Kenya could maintain the benefits of both competition and bulk purchase while maintaining quality control.
Quote of the day: "The wind of change is blowing through this continent."
Harold Macmillan
The British Prime Minister suggested decolonisation was coming on February 3, 1960.
