Get to bottom of Kemsa graft and punish looters
The swift sacking of a Principal Secretary and other top Health ministry officials over the new Sh4 billion Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) scandal involving a botched tender for the supply of treated mosquito nets is an emphatic demonstration of the government’s commitment to fighting the endemic public sector graft. The Kemsa board has also been disbanded.
True, it is too early to say what sins of omission or commission these officials might have committed. But this is a laudable way of dealing with the monster of corruption. Something went wrong under the watch of the new Health PS and such suspected lapses must be firmly dealt with.
However, it is disappointing that the officials who were involved in the Kemsa I scandal—which involved Sh7 billion for the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other essential materials at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic—appear to have got off scot-free. Despite promises that the culprits would be arraigned, the beneficiaries of the loot, now commonly referred to as the ‘Covid Millionaires’, are still free.
In contrast, the new racket has attracted action from the highest echelons with President William Ruto sacking PS Josephine Mburu and the entire Kemsa board. The chief executive has been suspended. The President had a day earlier vowed to clean up the corruption-riddled agency.
However, the public expectation is much greater than this. Kenyans deserve affordable medical care, which must never be hampered by corruption. This latest scandal has cost the agency at least Sh370 million in expected revenue after the Global Fund cancelled the tender to an unqualified bidder.
For a long-term solution, the authorities need to get to the bottom of the Kemsa scandals. It should not just be about knee-jerk reactions and back to business as usual as the excitement dies down.
We have had too many cases of officials adversely mentioned in financial scandals only being suspended or sacked but, after some time, quietly let off the hook or transferred to another section to continue with their impunity. Some are promoted or appointed to more senior positions.
These and other scandals call for firm deterrent action.
