The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority ( KEMSA) is back on the spot light after the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu exposed it for hiring more than double its required staff size.
According to a report submitted to the parliament by Ms Gathungu, the State Agency had 912 employees against an approved number of 341 in the year ended June 2020.
No approval was provided for the hiring of the extra 571 workers reflecting wastage of funds at the State agency which made news over corrupt dealings during the procurement of Covid-19 emergency equipment.
Gathungu also revealed that five officers on secondment from the Ministry of Health have been at KEMSA for more than six years, which is contrary to the law.
The secondment of officers from the public service to other organisations is applicable to pensionable officers for a period of three years, renewable once.
The Auditor-General told lawmakers that Kemsa’s staff costs in the financial year ended June 2020 stood at Sh1 billion due to the bloated workforce.
Kemsa is expected to reform and improve accountability of its staff after a series of scandals plagued it since 2020 looting of Covid-19 funds.
President Uhuru Kenyatta replaced the agency’s board of directors in April last year after the multi-billion-shilling scandals that halted supply of medical equipments.
Mary Chao Mwadime took over from former board chairman Kembi Gitura, who was moved to the Communications Authority (CA) in March 2021to insulate him from prosecution.
Mr Gitura’s incompetence contributed to the loss of Sh7.6 billion. He led the board of directors in watching over the violation of procurement processes that had been carried out by the then CEO Jonah Manjari and the board of management,” states a parliamentary report.
The committee also found that Gitura was aware of the looting at kemsa and that the management had spent funds meant for the Universal Health Care (UHC) programme to procure PPEs.
“By failing to take the necessary administrative action against the CEO and the board of management, Mr Gitura and the board failed (in their oversight role),” states the report.
