Robbing babies: Donor demands vaccine funds back

The Ministry of Health, the audit says, was unable to provide supporting documentation for $631,943 for expenses and $972,340 for the procurement of goods and services PHOTO: COURTESY

Corruption has hit a new low after an audit exposed that those entrusted with running the country’s public healthcare systems have been robbing babies.

In a shocking indictment, Kenya is to refund Sh160 million donor money stolen at the Ministry of Health and explain the loss of 730,000 doses of vaccines.

The theft, that subsequently prompted the rejection last year of the country’s Sh3.4 billion vaccine appeal, has put the lives of new-born babies at risk, with reports indicating some public facilities across the country are without the vital supplies.

Meanwhile, the donor -- GAVI Vaccine Alliance -- has suspended further funding through the ministry until the mess is satisfactorily cleared.

"The Government has committed to repay $1.6 million of GAVI funds confirmed to have been misused," says Iryna Mazur, a senior official with GAVI Geneva.

In a response to our enquiries on Wednesday, and copied to the Cabinet Secretary for Health Dr Cleopa Mailu, Mazur said they wanted every misused coin refunded.

While the ministry was silent on whether anybody would be prosecuted for the loss of funds and vaccines, GAVI expressed its impotency over the issue.

"We are not in a position to comment on disciplinary or legal repercussions, of the matter but we require full reimbursement of misused funds," said Mazur.

Last year, Kenya had applied to GAVI for a Sh3.4 billion vaccine support that had earlier been turned down, throwing the national vaccine programme into a crisis.

Responding to the rebuff then, Health Principal Secretary Nicholas Muraguri, who at the time was Director of Medical Services, attributed the tiff to operational disruptions caused by devolution.

"This new form of government has brought about new challenges, one of which is reconciling our records on finances and performance of the vaccination projects," said Dr Muraguri.

But the audit is explicit on how the money was shared out like birthday cakes and the vaccines stored no better than farmyard manure.

In a memorandum between GAVI and the Ministry of Health, the Government has promised to repay the lost funds and put measures in place to stop further leakages.

The detailed audit report covering Sh459,455,586 ($5,427,902) for the period July 1, 2009 to June 31, 2015 showed outright theft and total disregard for the lives of children.

A copy of the audit raises 17 issues 'caused by non-compliance with the Government of Kenya's own guidelines as well as GAVI's Transparency and Accountability Policy.

The Ministry of Health, the audit says, was unable to provide supporting documentation for $631,943 for expenses and $972,340 for the procurement of goods and services."

The procurement process was shown to be totally compromised, largely ignoring the official standing list of registered vendors, with tenders repetitively given only to a select few.

"The fact that the same set of vendors were repeatedly invited to bid and contracted presents a risk that selected vendors may have been favoured, undermining competition," says the audit.

In response, the ministry attributed this to its workers who it said may not be conversant with procurement rules. "The ministry promises that this will never happen again."

The audit listed dozens of approved tenders where applicants did not present their PIN, or VAT certificates or even goods specifications and yet were approved.

"Tenders were dished out to companies that did not have the experience and competence to fulfil the awarded contracts," said the audit.

The review further uncovered shortcuts that helped them escape scrutiny and oversight by Parliament.

It told of loopholes that allowed salary payments to ghost workers and payments for goods that were never delivered.

For example, the ministry is shown to have bought motorcycles and bicycles worth Sh97,234,030 for distribution to the counties.

However, the auditors could not find the motorcycles or evidence that they were indeed ever purchased or distributed as claimed.

The ministry has, however, promised to go out to the counties to trace the motorcycles.

Our written enquiries to Dr Maillu, the PS and GAVI Geneva on whether culpable individuals would be prosecuted went unanswered.

Meanwhile, the audit at the central depot in Nairobi and regional centres in Kisumu and Meru confirmed the poor storage and handling of vaccines. The audit, carried out by GAVI, said the depots did not have systems to track down expired vaccines.

While it was required that cold rooms be monitored for temperatures at least twice a day, auditors witnessed a situation at the Kisumu depot where there was no monitoring for five days.

At the Nairobi Central and Kisumu depots, instead of using shelves to allow proper air circulation, vaccine boxes were stacked in multiple layers of up to six feet high.

In all the depots, staff members were found not to have sufficient discipline and technical knowledge in record keeping, with stocks coming in or leaving without proper records.