Kenyans expect somebody, a powerful official, to be held accountable.
Almost two years since this newspaper published an exposé indicating that Afya House may have lost up to Sh5 billion in phony procurement deals, the matter remains unresolved.
Yet as if that disclosure represented the opening scenes of a Mexican soap opera, every new audit report on the Health ministry’s books appear to have fitted in well in the subsequent episodes of an unfolding show.
The latest report indicates that the Ministry of Health could not account for Sh2.68 billion spent on the portable container clinics, free maternity, family planning and managed equipment service in the 2015/16 financial year.
A previous report had even indicated that the ministry was unable to immediately piece together documents in support of payments amounting to Sh11 billion.
Under ordinary circumstances, one would think that the ministry needed more time to gather the transaction records. Not so when we are referring to a special audit ordered long after the Business Daily published its article in October 2016.
Unfortunately, equipment purportedly purchased to benefit low-income citizens are wasting away as the official inaction persists. It reeks of criminal intent that the officials, who spent such a colossal sum of money have chosen to prolong period of bad publicity by failing to produce transaction records.
This is unacceptable. A sullied image cannot be our new normal. Kenyans expect somebody, a powerful official, to be held accountable.
The public wants to see action taken on people, who negotiated the deals, put the pen to paper, received the deliveries and ordered for payments.
If the renewed interest in war on corruption as declared by the Executive is for real, the Health ministry should be among the first stops.
And just like procurement and finance officers in the public sector have been asked to step aside, action must be taken against Afya House officials who authored such a monumental loss to the taxpayers.
That is the only way to send a strong deterrent message to shysters who divert public funds, inflate prices during procurement, make double payments or manipulate the Integrated Financial Management System.
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