KEMSA bosses grilled over expiry of drugs worth Ksh150M
The acting Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) Dr Andrew Mulwa and his departmental heads were grilled on Tuesday over the expiry of medicine worth Ksh150 million.
The top management appeared before the the Public Investments Committee on Social Services Administration and Agriculture for an audit review on the Auditor-General’s Report regarding the financial statements of KEMSA for the year ended 2017/2018.
According to the auditor's revelations, drugs worth Ksh150 million expired or were damaged under the watch of KEMSA management.
The report also questioned the accuracy and validity of the net sales balance of Ksh7 million for the year ended June 2018, which could not be confirmed.
The Committee chaired by Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe wondered why KEMSA went ahead to procure more drugs when they had drugs whose expiry date was approaching in their stores. They further sought to know if the drugs were safely destroyed.
"KEMSA's business model is a "Pull" system where counties and other public health and faith-based facilities determine what they require and buy the same. After devolution, the entire public health supply chain system moved from "PUSH" to "PULL" and some commodities attracted little or no demand from these facilities. Over time, these commodities exhausted their shelf life," Mulwa said.
The Committee directed that KEMSA produces a certificate to prove that the drugs were safely destroyed and disposed of.
The bosses were also questioned over the employment of 759 employees as of June 30, 2018, against an approved staff establishment of 341, thus over employment of 418 staffers.
