Suspended Kemsa boss says botched Sh3.7bn tender was above board
Suspended Kemsa CEO Terry Ramadhani before Senate Committee on Health on June 6, 2023, for probe on the alleged irregularities in the botched Sh3.7 billion tender for long-lasting insecticidal nets.
Suspended Kemsa Chief Executive Officer Terry Ramadhani says the botched Sh3.7 billion tender was above board.
She told the Senate team that the Global Fund only raised issues with the pagination for the responsive bidders.
" We differed with them but since they raised issues of time constraints and being the funders, we couldn't argue much," she said.
She at the same time told the Senate team she is not sure if her suspension is linked to tender process or something else.
" Since we were suspended, there has been no form of communication from anyone on the charges or issues that warranted our suspension. I find this quite disconcerting. I am left wondering, whether my suspension was linked to this tender process or other things," she said.
At the same time Ex-Kemsa board chairman Daniel Rono told the Senate commitee that the Sh3.7bn tender process was handled by management and the CEO.
Former Kenya Medical Supplies Authority Board chairperson Daniel Rono before Senate Committee on Health.
" Matters to do with procurement did not fall under my docket. My mandate was oversight; handling more of policy issues like budget approval and approval of procurement documents. All these had been done by the time I joined," he said.
He said the tender had been advertised in January but he joined in February and got the process on-going.
"I learnt of the tender cancellation while on an induction in Naivasha. We would later meet Global Fund who said the two companies approved by Kemsa were non-responsive because of pagination issues," he said.
