Health secretary Cleopa Mailu on Wednesday said an expose on massive corruption at his Ministry would be treated with the “seriousness it deserves”.
Dr Mailu disclosed that investigations were ongoing at the ministry to unearth the depth of corruption first reported Wednesday in this newspaper.
He said “action will be taken” to guarantee and preserve the value of taxpayers’ money.
“We affirm that under no circumstances will the ministry condone any acts of corruption and the necessary action will be taken and we shall communicate the outcome once the audit process is complete,” said Dr Mailu in a statement.
The findings of an internal audit report published in this newspaper on Tuesday opened a can of worms at Afya House, including the possible loss of more than Sh5 billion.
The audit put top officials on the spot for diverting funds meant for projects to other unscrupulous deals.
Top on the list of fraudulent transactions identified in the audit report was the diversion of Sh889 million meant to be disbursed to county governments to support the free maternity care programme and its use in the purchase of portable container clinics for urban slums.
The report comes even as governors demand the refund of a total Sh898 million that they spent on providing the maternity services in county hospitals.
A lump sum of Sh800 million was paid to Estama Investment Limited, a company whose owners are not revealed in official records at the Registrar of Companies, to supply 100 portable medical clinics that have yet to be delivered four months after the financial year ended.
“We are open to internal and external scrutiny to ensure transparency and proper utilisation of allocated funds,” said Dr Mailu.
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