Audit report exposes jobs scandal at Kemsa : The Standard

The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) irregularly recruited 418 officers, a report by the Auditor General has revealed. At the time the audit was carried out, the authority had 759 employees against an approved staff establishment of 341. According to the report for the financial year ending June 30, 2018, the authority paid Sh8.7 million to 26 staff seconded to the agency. The 26 had been working for Kemsa for over six years. This, the report observed, was contrary to its human resource policy that restricts secondment to a period not exceeding three years.

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“Further, the seconded twenty-six (26) staff include twelve (12) staff with no special skills contrary to paragraph 7.3 of the human resource policies and procedure which provide for secondment of employees with special skills that are not available within the authority,” stated the report in part. Auditor General Edward Ouko further revealed in his findings that the authority paid Sh9.3 million in salaries to 40 employees during the year under review and another two who were promoted without necessary approvals. The auditor questioned the authority’s expenditure on wage bill amounting to Sh765.6 million for the year under review. Red flag The audit report raised a red flag on the cost of Sh150 million expired drugs that was declared by the management, noting that no explanation was given for stocking the expired drugs.

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“Consequently, the accuracy and validity of the net sales balance of Sh709 million cannot be confirmed,” the report stated. The audit flagged another expenditure of Sh8 million, which included Sh6 million, that was paid out to members of the board as sitting and lunch allowances. “Further, the sitting and lunch allowances included an amount of Sh1.6 million paid to four board members whose supporting invitation letters and minutes of the meeting held were not availed for audit verification,” stated the report. It was also revealed in the audit that the authority does not possess ownership documents for various parcels of land located in at least five counties and valued at Sh158 million. According to the report, the agency has property valued at Sh3.9 billion, which include parcels of land worth Sh1.7 billion.

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The parcels of land without any documentation include Eldoret Block 10/155/6 valued at Sh25 million, Garissa PDP Ref.No.326/2003/58 valued at Sh6.5 million, Kakamega-Green Site 4/168 worth Sh7.5 million, Kakamega PGH 4/168-Sh3 million and Kisumu 209163/IX estimated at Sh25 million. The other parcels of land without title deeds are Mombasa 209163/A valued at Sh76 million and Nyeri 3/173/174 worth Sh15 million. The auditor noted that no explanation was provided for failure to obtain title deeds for the parcels of land.

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Related Topics

KemsaAuditor GeneralEdward OukoIrregular recruitment