Governor Kang'ata puts drugs 'thieves' on notice

Murang'a Governor Irungu Kang'ata has put on notice county employees who steal drugs from hospitals.

There have been reports that some medical staff collude with private pharmacy owners to steal drugs from county health facilities.
Reading the riot act, Mr Kang'ata said all workers must be accountable.

He said the county had bought enough drugs, noting that Murang'a hospitals had run out of medicines, with allegations that they were stolen by health workers.

The governor added that though the previous administration ran down the health sector, most hospitals faced acute drug shortages due to pilferage.

“To ensure patients get medicine, the county government intends to use a digital tracking system to trace drugs from the supplier to hospitals. We will establish elaborate systems to curb the theft of medical supplies," he said.

“Already, we have a platform to monitor distribution and utilisation of drugs in our facilities. This is to ensure no drugs are diverted from our hospitals.”

Mr Kang’ata noted that his administration has also partnered with telecom giant Safaricom on a platform that will help in digitising the distribution and stocking of medical supplies.

Digitisation of services, he noted, will include all other areas of service delivery not just health.

Public health

Mr Kang’ata spoke as the county government on Monday started distributing drugs worth Sh29 million to public health facilities.

The drugs will come as a relief for hundreds of patients who used to be told to buy medicines from private pharmacies as public health facilities lacked them and other key supplies.

The county administration also cleared a pending bill of Sh31 million to the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa).

Speaking when he flagged off the drugs, Mr Kang’ata reiterated that the county government will henceforth procure drugs from Kemsa and Mission for Essential Drugs Supplies (Meds).

He faulted the previous administration for procuring drugs from private entities, saying those involved in the procurement were after getting kickbacks.

Mr Kang’ata said drugs from Kemsa are of better quality and reasonably priced compared with those from private companies.

“There is no need to seek kickbacks when people are suffering in hospitals. I don’t need kickbacks and will partner with Kemsa and Meds to ensure the county gets cheap drugs,” he added.

The drug consignment, he said, will be distributed to all 115 public health facilities in Murang’a.

The governor urged health workers to ensure drugs are well utilised and for the benefit of the sick, saying no patient should be sent to buy medicine from pharmacies.

“Kemsa has all types of drugs and if they fail to have any type, we will source it from Meds. Private companies will only be considered if all other options fail,” he said.

“The cheap drugs will enable us to always have drugs stocked in our hospitals. Purchasing expensive drugs previously [caused] our hospitals to lack medicine.”

Speaking on the same occasion, Kemsa CEO Terry Ramadhan Kiunge lauded the Murang’a administration for clearing its pending bill.

Ms Kiunge said Kemsa terminated its contract with the Murang’a government two years ago due to the pending bill.

She noted that with the new administration, Kemsa will consistently supply drugs to Murang’a hospitals and at affordable prices.

“County governments owe Kemsa more than Sh2 billion and we are happy the Murang’a government has cleared its bill,” she said.

“My prayer is that the other county administrations will pay their bills and come and partner with us. Kemsa has cheap and quality drugs and with a transparent contract we can consistently supply medicines to all counties.”