This archive report was first published on 21 August 2020.
Kenya: Kemsa Embroiled in Corruption Scandal, Seeks Sh5 Billion Bailout ¶
Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) is facing a corruption scandal after it was revealed that the agency has been left with medical supplies worth Sh6 billion that it cannot move due to inflated prices.
The agency's operations could grind to a halt unless the government offers to bail it out, according to a Kemsa board meeting held on Wednesday.
As part of its efforts to stay afloat, Kemsa intends to ask the government to allow it to sell off some items procured to fight the coronavirus at a lower value.
However, this move is likely to result in taxpayers losing Sh1.9 billion, according to an ongoing audit.
Two major foreign donors at the Ministry of Health have threatened to withdraw funding due to rampant graft, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global Fund have raised the red flag over how Kemsa has been spending their money.
USAID and the Global Fund have informed audit firm PriceWaterHouseCoopers to follow up on a number of audit queries raised by their own investigations on Kemsa.
It has also emerged that Kemsa was only allowed to spend Sh758 million during the first phase of financing to fight Covid-19, but the agency's management overshot its expenditure to Sh9 billion.
Health Principal Secretary Susan Mochache wrote to suspended Kemsa chief executive Jonah Manjari on April 15, approving the procurement of goods worth Sh758 million.
However, the expenditure grew from an initially approved Sh758 million to over Sh9 billion, and auditors and detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission are trying to find answers to this question.
