Kenya risks losing Ksh.3.7 billion anti-Malaria nets over irregular procurement at KEMSA

The process handled by the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA) has been flagged by the global fund as being irregular with the fund seeking to move the process to its own procurement, a move that will also deny the country earnings to the tune of Ksh.600 million and put at risk over 10 million people who are expected to benefit from the nets.

The fight against Malaria, a disease that kills an estimated 12,000 people yearly in Kenya is in danger of stalling following what the global fund, which supports this fight, terms as irregular procurement procedures for the acquisition of some 10 million insecticide-treated nets.

The fund had floated Ksh.3.7 billion tenders for the supply of 10.2 million long-lasting polyethylene and polyester nets to be distributed from November this year to July next year as part of the mass campaign.

Locally the tender was floated in January this year, but ran into headwinds soon after with the Ministry of Health and the global fund clashing on the specifications of the nets to be delivered, resulting in an amendment of the tender and the extension of the same.

A total of 17 bids were received, with five making the cut according to the evaluating committee.

However, a review of the tenders by the global fund showed that the five bids were not qualified. Indeed, only two companies, Tianjin Yorkool and Premium Movers, who were deemed unfit by the tenders evaluation committee should have made the cut, while Vka Polymers pvt, Shobikaa Impex, and Partec East Africa, which were ranked as qualified should have been disqualified for incomplete pagination.

The Global fund in its final assessment of the tenders submitted says the two bids assessed as responsive, Shobikaa for polyethylene nets and Partec East for polyester nets, failed to meet the mandatory documentation requirement and should not have proceeded to the technical, financial and post qualification phase. The tender did not yield responsive bids.

The bungled procurement process has now seen the Global Fund cancel the tender and offer it directly to its own procurement wing Wambo in a move that is expected to see Kenya lose hundreds of millions of shillings in funding.

If the tender had been handled by Kenya, KEMSA would have received 2% or Ksh.74 million as part of the procurement fee, and 8% or Ksh.295 million as warehousing and distribution charges.

The Ministry of Health had until the 8th of May to sign the handover documents to Wambo but sources indicate that the ministry is declining to do so, leading to a stalemate that now threatens millions of Kenyans with contracting malaria due to the lack of essential commodities that is treated mosquito nets.

The Global Fund is understood to have tasked the Ministry of Health with finding out how and who bungled up the procurement processes as a condition for continued collaboration with the country in the remaining phase of this procurement process.