Ksh.7.8 billion KEMSA tender haunts Mutahi Kagwe in CS vetting

During the vetting session before the National Assembly's Committee on Appointments, the MPs revived the COVID millionaires scam that had rocked the Health Ministry in the aftermath of the pandemic. 

At the time, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) flagged the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency for mishandling a Ksh.7.8 billion tender for the procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) following reports that the tender was awarded to well-connected individuals. 

This prompted former President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve the entire board. 

In response, Kagwe said that he fought a bruising battle with the cartels at the Health Ministry by changing the staff at KEMSA and inviting the law enforcement authorities to investigate the scandal. 

"There were cartels in the Ministry of Health and I know they are also in this Ministry. We carried out a complete reengineering of KEMSA, a change of staff, restructuring of the organisation. I am the one who invited the investigating authorities to examine and see how we changed the structure," Kagwe said. 

"I take responsibility for all the negatives that happened when we were fighting Covid."

Kagwe, however, pointed out the achievements in his tenure, indicating how his ministry managed to cut costs in purchasing PPEs during the pandemic. 

"I challenged the House back then to show me where I could get PPE at a cost lower than Sh9,000. There was scarcity then but when we started making our own we could get them at a quarter that price," he noted. 

Kagwe noted that, if approved, his ministry would maximise social media as a tool to disseminate information to Kenyans to avoid the spread of misinformation and disinformation. 

"We should use the same Social Media and the mainstream media to disseminate information. My intention is to continue working with the Fourth Estate. They are the reason we won the fight against Coronavirus," he added.