NIS secret supply deal with Kemsa revealed in probe

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) supplied ventilators — used in intensive care for Covid-19 patients with breathing difficulties -- worth Sh300 million to the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa) in a procurement puzzle that a parliamentary committee cannot crack.

The National Assembly’s Health committee said Kemsa received a consignment of Covid-19 Health Products and Technologies (HPTs) from the spy agency.

The committee, which was investigating controversial purchase of Covid-19 kits at the State-owned medical supplies agency, said it was unable to review how NIS procured then 100 ventilators that were in short supply at the height of the pandemic.

“The committee observed that Kemsa received a consignment of Covid-19 HPTs from National Intelligence Service. This included 100 ventilators,” the committee said. “However, it is unclear how NIS obtained and acquired this consignment.”

The committee probed allegations of graft over the procurement and supply of Covid-19 emergency equipment by Kemsa from March to September 2020.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) said there was “irregular expenditure” of Sh7.8 billion.

Kemsa procured one ventilator from various vendors at a unit cost of Sh3 million, according to a special audit report tabled in Parliament by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu.

This means the 100 ventilators NIS provide further details of other HPTs that NIS supplied nor the sources of the equipment, suggesting that the agency spent more on the Kemsa supplies.

NIS budgetary spending is not open to public scrutiny.

The Treasury allocated Sh39.05 billion to NIS in the year to June 2021, making it one of the best funded State agencies.

The spy agency was allocated an additional Sh1.5 billion in April through the revised budget for anti-coronavirus operations. Details of the operations were also not made public.

Kenya joined the global scramble to ramp up supplies of Covid-19 kits such as ventilators and ICU beds after the detection of the first coronavirus case on March 13.

The panic buying of ventilators and ICU beds created a shortage and pushed their prices to record highs.

The special forensic audit accuses Kemsa of failing to conduct a market survey before purchasing Covid-19 items, including ventilators.

While conducting a physical inspection of various institutions to sample items procured by Kemsa, the MPs noted that various donations and purchases for Covid-19 had not been put to use.

“For instance, Kenyatta University Hospital had procured its own ventilators and also received ventilators from MoH. However, not all the ventilators were being used,” the committee said.

The latest report by the Senate ad hoc committee on the Covid-19 Pandemic shows that Kenya had 297 functional ventilators of which 97 were available in public health facilities as at September 23, 2020.

“With regards to the availability of ventilators, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH), an additional 30 ventilators have been procured, of which eight have been distributed,” the report tabled in the Senate shows.

The report notes that the 47 devolved units have not received any of the 30 additional ventilators from the MoH.

The committee directed MoH to provide a report to the Senate on the whereabouts of the 30 ventilators it said to had purchased and distributed within a period of seven days.

“The availability of this basic equipment is considered critical for use in the care and management of Coviud-19 patients who may develop mild to moderate illness,” the Senate team said.

The House team said Kenya faces a critical deficit in the availability of ICU beds and ventilators for use by Covid-19 patients who may develop severe illness.

The chief executive of Kemsa was suspended in August following allegations that the agency had procured low quality items and inflated the prices of others.

Paracetamol tablets sold at Sh40 per pack were bought for Sh66.50 during the pandemic, while alcohol-based sanitizers priced at Sh313 were purchased at Sh495, said a report by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority.