USAID, Global Fund Threaten To Withdraw Sh400B Donor Funding If KEMSA Scandal Is Not Checked

Kenya is staring at losing up-to Sh400B in donor funding according to reports. This follows the filth that has been exposed in the recent past over COVID-19 funds misappropriation.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global Fund have written to the government expressing concern over the alleged corruption opening a box of pandora.

Donors have been taking close look at the endless Afya House scams. Jack Ma’s donations recently took center stage with allegations that corrupt officials in the ministry, consisted and sold them leaving many health care workers exposed to the virus due to lack of standardized PPEs or plainly without any.

Its with the great concern that longtime donors like USAID are now jumping in to seek accountability.

The Global Fund and USAID are threatening to withdraw funds that were to support HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria programs for the next three years.

They expressed concern over KEMSA’s procurement woes as well as management and implementation of the grants given to the institution.

KEMSA is said to be holding up to Sh6B stockpile of PPEs and other COVID-19 supplies that they can’t dispose because they bought them at inflated prices(triple the market price) and no one is willing to buy. I’m race against time as some of the supplies are about to hit their expiry dates.

The authority’s board is now seeking the health ministry’s go ahead to dump the supplies at market value of Sh4M in what would’ve been avoided if the right procurement procedures were followed. They’re further seeking Sh5B re-capitalization from the treasury to cushion them from the loses incurred.

At the onset of COVID-19 in Kenya, Health Ministry PS Susan Mochache directed that KEMSA procure 25,000 PPEs, 10,000 N95 masks and 6,000 lab sample transport collection consumable kits.

The directive was issued on March 18, 2020 and the next day after a meeting with the COVID-19 emergency committee, she further ordered that KEMSA purchases 6,000 laboratory test kits.

Four days later, after another meeting with the National Emergency COVID-19 Response Committee, 30 ventilators were required to be distributed across the country.

However, this would open floodgates at KEMSA with its officials going on a shopping spree, with PS Mochache later calling for a meeting with the agency’s officials on April 6 for a progress report.

The next day, KEMSA sent a price list complete with the contracted suppliers to her.

In the email, the agency’s Director of Commercial Services Eliud Muriithi indicated that KEMSA had scaled down commitments to the budgetary limits as guided.

It is at this point that the PS Mochache moved to cap KEMSA’s budget for procuring the COVID-19 emergency supplies at Ksh. 758.69 million.

At some point, the agency’s MD Jonah Manjari–who has since been suspended–wrote directly to Treasury requesting Ksh. 5.14billion to facilitate COVID-19 services.

However, on June 22, Treasury noted that KEMSA had already mobilized COVID-19 emergency supplies worth the same amount without information on whether the commitment had the approval of the Health Ministry.

Treasury further expressed concern that the KEMSA boss had addressed the request directly to Treasury by passing the parent ministry.

Manjari was forced to channel the request through the PS who is the ministry’s accounting officer.

Treasury subsequently slammed the door on any additional budgetary allocation to KEMSA leaving the agency toying with the idea of diverting money meant for universal healthcare for payments against commitments it had made.

A letter sent from PS Mochache was however categorical in its warning against the use of universal healthcare funds to pay for the already delivered but overpriced COVID-19 supplies.

She told KEMSA that the Health ministry was not in a position to provide any additional funds.

With the government providing only Ksh. 300million, the bulk of the budget was now coming from the World Bank, which was also caught up questionable dealings.

The KEMSA Board is now said to be considering sending more officials packing as the web of graft at the agency continues to unravel.