KEMSA reviews tenders process in major reforms

KEMSA acting CEO Edward Njoroge (in tie) has word with members of the County Pharmacists forum during a meeting in Lake Naivasha Country hotel on June 2, 2021. [Antony Gitonga, Standard]

The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) has embarked on reviewing its procurement process and suppliers’ performance.

The authority in liaison with the Ministry of Health and development partners has formed a task force to address challenges currently facing it.

Kemsa has been in the limelight over the manner it procured Covid-19 PPE with allegations that billions of shillings were lost in the process. Already, senior managers have been sent home while traders involved in the procurement of the medical supplies are under investigation.

According to acting CEO Edward Njoroge, a Reforms Implementation Committee had been instituted to provide guidance and oversight in the implementation of proposed reforms.

Njoroge said some of the reforms that they were keen on included reviewing their procurement process to be in line with the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015.

“We are reviewing suppliers’ performance to measure quality and consistent pricing to eliminate suppliers who fail to comply with performance requirements,” he said.

He added that Kemsa had made huge investments in automating all its business processes to ensure that counties medical orders were received and processed on time.

“This has been made possible by the new and improved Logistics Information Management System thus enabling Kemsa to inject efficiency in the supply chain service,” he said. He was speaking at the end of a two-day workshop for county pharmacists in Naivasha.