The National Assembly’s departmental committee on Health has discovered a suspicious tender error that may have contributed to the failed procurement of anti-Malaria nets worth Sh3.7 billion.
The error in question relates to the inclusion of Preferred Provider Organization combinations, which did not align with the initial tender specifications.
It is suspected that this discrepancy was intentional and aimed at sabotaging the procurement process by the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA).
Acting KEMSA Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mulwa told the committee that the head of the malaria program had alerted his office about the absence of PPO combinations in the insecticide specifications stated in the tender advertisement.
“I advised the head of the malaria program to send me a memo on this issue. He indeed prepared the memo, but unfortunately, it did not reach my office,” said Mulwa, who is also the head of Preventive and Promotive Health Services at the Ministry of Health.
“Instead, it was acted upon by Josephine Mburu, the Principal Secretary of the State Department for Public Health and Professional Standards, leading to the extension of the tender,” he added.
During the committee hearing, Mulwa faced questioning from Endebess MP Robert Pukose, who chairs the Health Committee.
The committee raised concerns about the contradictory statements made by Mulwa regarding the origin of the request to amend the tender specifications.
“Are you suggesting to this committee that the request to amend the tender specifications originated from your office, yet you claim to be unaware? But at the same time, didn’t you instruct him to write the memo?” said Pukose.
In his response, Mulwa admitted that the head of the malaria program had informed him about the missing PPO requirement but claimed he was unaware of the subsequent actions taken.
“Yes, he came to my office and informed me that the advertisement was missing the PPO part. I verified that it was indeed missing and asked him to write a memo if he believed it was necessary,” he said.
Mulwa argued that his office had no visibility of the communication between the National Treasury, KEMSA, and the Global Fund concerning the color and dimensions specifications.
He said that although they had specified blue-green or blue as the color, Treasury, KEMSA, and the Global Fund agreed on a rectangular shape and a blue collar.
Mulwa also said the choice between Pyrethrin or PPO for the insecticide was decided by the Global Fund and Treasury, without his knowledge.
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