Kemsa New scandal
In addition to losing the State corporation at least Sh370 million in revenue, the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa) botched a Sh3.7 billion tender for the delivery of treated mosquito nets meant to help millions of low-income households prevent malaria.
According to internal papers obtained by Nation, the Global Fund has now canceled Kemsa’s procurement process because it appeared to be defective and favored a bidder who did not meet the necessary qualifications at the expense of a real maker of mosquito nets.
Kemsa New scandal
The documents also show that China’s Tianjin Yorkool, the only company that satisfies all standards under both Kenyan and Global Fund procurement laws and procedures, was unfairly disqualified from the tender review.
The latest intrigues have brought controversy back to the State agency, which is still reeling from the consequences of the Covid-19 procurement fiasco, which saw a number of people with political clout score deals worth billions of dollars, the value of which has still to be determined.
Read more about Kemsa using cameras to prevent supply theft.
The successful bidder in the Global Fund-funded contest was supposed to provide 10.2 million treated mosquito nets, but due to errors by Kemsa, the Geneva-based organization is now demanding action against the authorities who botched the execution.
The Global Fund’s evaluation of the tendering process deviates significantly from Kemsa’s, suggesting that the rules may have been skewed in favor of a select few bidders.
The Geneva-based organization has determined that three of the companies on Kemsa’s shortlist, Polymers Pvt, Shobikaa Impex, and Partec East Africa, should have also been eliminated at the preliminary evaluation stage since they presented insufficient document sets.
Only Tianjin Yorkool and Premium Movers met the criteria at the preliminary evaluation stage of Kemsa, according to the Global Fund analysis.