Kemsa Sh50m supplier moved to tears after MPs clear firm
A proprietor was moved to tears after a parliamentary committee probing the Sh7.8 billion Kemsa scandal said her late husband followed the law in procurement of Covid-19 supplies.
Omaera Pharmaceuticals supplied 10,000 infrared thermometers at Sh5,000 each, netting Sh50 million.
Dorcas Njoroge, a director at the firm incorporated in 1998, got overwhelmed and could not hold back her emotions after the Public Investments Committee gave her a clean bill of health.
This followed revelations that it was Kemsa that wrote to her husband – who died from a heart attack last July - inviting them to bid for the tender.
The firm is prequalified by Kemsa as supplier of equipment and still trades with the medical supplies authority.
After the invitation, Omaera filled in a tender, sourced the materials - imported and supplied. The firm raised an invoice on June 16, which Kemsa paid in August.
Njoroge told MPs that: “Omaera is number one in terms of compliance. We can't break any rule when it comes to compliance.”
PIC chairman Abdulswamad Nassir said it was worth noting that there were companies that followed the due process in the controversial supplies.
“What your late husband did was the right thing. Your document gives a proper perspective,” the Mvita MP said.
There is a case of masks manufacturer trading as Nairobi Enterprises Ltd which was also found to have followed due procedures, though yet to be paid.
PIC has been probing directors of dozens of companies that were implicated in the Sh7.8 billion Kemsa scandal. Owners of about 100 firms have been probed so far.
Accounts by their respective directors revealed how tender laws were shoved aside by individuals who positioned themselves to reap from the Covid-19 windfall.
Some Chinese companies are believed to have used some of the firms as conduits to supply the masks – which they had imported prior to a case being declared in Kenya.
“Nothing could stop these firms from following the law,” Nassir said, citing the case of Caresha Healthcare Solutions which got a Sh95 million supply contract in 24 hours.
He said someone inside Kemsa advised suppliers what they needed to write hence the reason “every one of you (firms) is writing nearly the same price.”
“Every single person who comes here says it was an emergency. Why would we have 97 per cent of the stock lying there?”
“It was a fabricated emergency. The pattern is so similar where people get a commitment letter with no price,” Nassir said.
Carolyn Kitur, the director of Caresha Healthcare Solutions, was hard-pressed to explain that her firm was prequalified as she claimed since Kemsa records showed otherwise.
She was among individuals who walked into Kemsa offices and walked out with tenders worth millions of shillings without following procurement laws.
Kitur wrote an intent letter to Kemsa on April 16 and got a commitment letter for Sh95 million the following day in circumstances MPs said were not clear.
She was not given a sample receipt voucher that is normally attached to samples delivered to Kemsa for consideration.
Kitur on Friday said her items were checked by the quality assurance team before she supplied 21,000 50-pack face masks.
She denied knowing anyone at the entity. This was after MPs demanded explanation on how she could pull a Sh100 million deal without knowing the name of any Kemsa boss.
Kitur, when probed if she had engaged in any other business and saw anything unusual or sought legal advice, said she was simply told to supply the goods.
“I was told to commence supplies immediately and that the contract agreement was to be drawn later. A Kemsa secretary said it was an emergency. She said they were doing the same for everyone,” she said.
Kitur said she raised an invoice on June 11 and was paid on June 29, adding that no one facilitated her payment.
But Nassir said: “It is no miracle you were paid in 10 days. Do you want to go down with the persons who helped you facilitate this?”
The PIC chair said the firm’s Kenya Revenue Authority report shows that no tax returns were submitted, but Kitur said the taxes have been declared. BY THE STAR

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