S69M COVID RIP-OFF – KENYAN MPS DEMAND COVID MILLIONAIRES REPORT TO BE TABLED IN PARLIAMENT
NAIROBI – A report on the US$68, 874, 000 billion scandal at Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) is among those that have been prioritised by MPs when sittings resume on January 25.
Investigative agencies cannot act on the recommendations of parliamentary reports unless they have been adopted by the House.
Sources in the National Assembly leadership confided to the Nation that the committees are determined to get the report listed on the order paper and discussed by the House.
The move, the sources said, is aimed at protecting the image of the National Assembly so that lawmakers are not seen as a hurdle to having perpetrators prosecuted.
Billed as one of the biggest scandals in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s 10-year reign, the US$68, 874, 000 theft involved officials who took advantage of the pandemic to buy personal protective equipment (PPE) at exorbitant prices.
It has been 18 months of waiting for prosecutions. Both Houses conducted investigations into the matter, with the Senate report gathering dust on shelves while that of the National Assembly is yet to be debated and adopted.
National Assembly Public Investments Committee (PIC) chairman Abdulswamad Nassir said Speaker Justin Muturi has assured him of action on the report.
“Our report is very clear on who to prosecute, who should not hold public office, who should be investigated and who should not be paid,” Nassir said.
The PIC report is the last by a parliamentary team that investigated the Covid-19 millionaires scandal.
It was tabled in the House in September but no recommendations for top politicians and their allies involved in the scandal were made.
The PIC investigation was the third after that of the Health Committee and Senate. The committee says it is only its report that recommends the return of the extra money paid to suppliers.
It now wants a multiagency team formed to look into the procurement of KN95 and surgical masks between March and July 2020.
The lawmakers want the multi-agency team to analyse the amount of money KEMSA paid for the items.
“Companies that may have supplied KEMSA at prices higher than the recommended ones should make refunds within a month,” the report reads.
Nassir said his committee saved taxpayers more than Sh3.9 billion excess payment to suppliers. “This money should be recovered as soon as possible,” he said.
Director of Public Prosecutions, Noordin Haji, has been quoted as saying that individuals who benefitted and orchestrated the KEMSA scandal would have their day in court “soon,” without giving a timeline.
Investigations into the scandal ordered by President Kenyatta have become a circus. No one has appeared in court for the KEMSA-related scandals even after Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu revealed massive procurement irregularities at the organisation. – KENYA24.
