Counties to seek expert opinion on proposed extension of MES contracts » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 20 – County governments will seek an expert opinion of the continued engagement of county-run hospitals in a national government initiated project dubbed the Managed Equipment Service (MES).

The seven-year project rolled out in 2015 is expected to come to and end between December 2021 and May 2023 when contracts signed by various counties will lapse.

A MES review committee proposed a three-year extension in a report considered by the Council of Governors during a full council meeting on Monday.

Speaking on Monday after a full council meeting, Council of Governors (CoG) Chairperson Martin Wambora said the Ministry of Health put in place a committee to review the project which was launched in 2015 as required under the contract to inform the next course of action.

Wambora stated that following a survey which was conducted between May and June 2021 with the aim of ascertaining the status of the MES Equipment in the Counties, the MES review committee’s report proposed the extension of contract for an additional 3 years.

The committee settled on the extension disregarding two available alternatives namely; decommissioning and disposal of equipment by the contractor or/and transfer of equipment to the Ministry of Health.

“In view of the options provided, the Council of Governors has resolved that Counties will seek expert opinion on the issue who will render professional advice which will inform the Counties on the next course of action,” Wambora said.

Under the MES arrangement, equipment manufacturers were outsourced to supply, install, train users, and provide maintenance, repair and replacement services for the specialized medical equipment for the duration of the MES contract.

In February 2015, the Ministry of Health awarded leasing agreements for the provision of specialized medical equipment to counties worth Sh63 billion.

According to the Ministry of Health, the type of equipment prioritized under the MES project was informed by a Needs Assessment conducted in March 2014.

However, the implementation of the MES project has been marred with claims of corruptions across the country with some counties failing to benefit from the project.

In 2020, the Senate committee probing the MES project found that Lands Principal Secretary Nicholas Muraguri who served as the Health Principal Secretary between 2015 and 2017 withheld the contracts and other supporting documents from former Health Secretary Cleopa Mailu on grounds that they were “secret”.

Mailu currently serves as the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) as the new Permanent Representative of Kenya to the UNOG.

The Senate report indicated that the MES project flooded hospitals with highly-priced equipment which failed to improve the health standards in counties as promised.

Top Health Ministry officials were also denied access to the documents in attempts to block their input to Health and Budget committees over the project, according to the Senate Committee report.