Kemsa sees answer to theft, corruption in new tech

The scandal-ridden Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) is now banking on technology to minimise human errors that have cost it billions of shillings.

Kemsa CEO Terry Ramadhani said in Eldoret yesterday that they are installing systems that will give the agency a new image.

She says her team wants to improve customer service, arguing that the agency cannot continue to be synonymous with scandals.

“We must reposition Kemsa … So if we get the right systems in place. We get the right processes in place. We get the right people to operate in place,” she said.

“We have improved over the last one year ….”

Kemsa, she said, is committed to ending disputes with counties over delivery delays.

Ms Ramadhani said the agency will digitise all its operations to eliminate such delays.

“You can't tell the patient ‘you eat for two weeks with your disease, the medicine is coming’. It needs to be there when it needs to be there,” she said, adding that the agency will improve efficiency on procurement, storage and delivery.

She added that digitising processes would make services faster.

But the transformation cannot be done by Kemsa alone, Ms Ramadhani said, urging all stakeholders to take an active role.

“We are calling upon our stakeholders, like our suppliers, our transporters, every person that gets touched by Kemsa services, to come on board and help us streamline the sector, because having an efficient Kemsa is good for everybody,” she said.

“It is good for the business people, which is good for the citizens and we can all find a home on happy ground where we are delivering services.”

She said Kemsa is engaging with the stakeholders on how best to make its services more efficient and effective.

“[Kemsa wants] “to engage positively and … not just for engagement’s sake, but engagement for seeking solutions and collaborations on these very complex problems of making sure that we have an excellent supply chain”.

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