Quick action over alleged Kemsa scandal laudable

Kemsa CEO Terry Ramadhan sorts out drug sample during a working tour of its facility in Embakasi on Tueday, April 4, 2022. [Samson Wire, Standard]

President William Ruto's decision to send home the entire Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) board and the Public Health Principal Secretary over allegations of procurement irregularities sets a precedent in the war against corruption.

The Global Fund accuses Kemsa of bungling a Sh3.7 billion mosquito net deal, citing multiple procurement gaps. As a result of the Fund's decision, millions of poor families are now at risk of contracting malaria.

While Kemsa and the Health ministry insist that no money was lost and while there is no proof yet that the fired officials had their hands in the cookie jar, the swift action by the president is praiseworthy.

Corruption is endemic in this country, and it is now cliche to say that millions - former President Uhuru Kenyatta estimated it at Sh2 billion - are lost every single day to corruption.

At Kemsa, for instance, a whopping Sh7.8 billion was plundered by cartels at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The money, most of it donated, was meant to buy personal protective equipment and other medical supplies for health facilities. Many such brazen corruption acts go unpunished and in few instances where suspects are taken to court, the cases drag on for years on end.

Needless to say, failure to take decisive action against those who dabble in corruption embolden many others to engage in the vice. Corruption has become fashionable and is seen by many people as the only avenue to quick riches. Those who are not corrupt, Kenyans say in hushed tones, are not because they lack the opportunity to pilfer.

To win the war against corruption, the president must normalise what he has done at Kemsa. He must swiftly crack the whip and jettison suspected tainted government officers at the whiff of corruption. Those suspected of malfeasance must then be thoroughly investigated and punished if found culpable. The innocent should be accorded the right reparations.

Retaining corruption suspects in office entrenches the vice and continuously undermines the quality of public service.