Documents from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have uncovered a Ksh 139 billion loan deal Kenya entered into with two firms.
According to the contract available on the SEC website, the agreement was made in June 2020 as Kenya battled rising cases of Covid-19.
“We have been informed by Techno-Investment Module Limited (TIM), a corporation domiciled in the Republic of Belarus that the two agreements that we submitted to TIM and the Republic of Kenya, namely, the Project Contract and the Finance Contract became effective.
“These two contracts were the result of the discussions and negotiations that we have had with TIM and the Republic of Kenya to help them build, if circumstances allow and if problems in the Covid-19 current uncertain environment can be successfully avoided, phase one of a planned National Healthcare Infrastructure in the Republic of Kenya,” the SEC report reads.
When contacted with queries about the deal, National Treasury officials requested more time to confirm whether Parliament was aware of the deal and confirm whether Kenya received the loan.
On his part, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe told Kenyans.co.ke that he was not "conversant with the issue."
Kallo Inc, a company operating in Canada and the US was supposed to provide a comprehensive healthcare infrastructure in Kenya using both mobile clinics and hospitals (Kallo Integrated Delivery System (KIDS) while TIM was supposed to provide the financing.
“All payments to be made under the project contract during the contract period are to be paid directly to us by TIM. And we are obligated to deliver all goods under the project contract to the port of Mombasa, Kilindini Harbor, Kenya and to certain sites in Kenya,” Kallo Inc wrote.
The loan matures in 20 years with a moratorium consisting of the first three (3) years during which Kenya is not obligated to pay any interest or principal to TIM.
The document also revealed that Kenya entered into a deal with a firm without prior experience of the project.
“While we believe that our KIDS system offers genuine potential in raising the level and quality of healthcare services in countries such as the Republic of Kenya, we have not conducted any tests or obtained any independent third party evaluation of the procedures, systems, or steps that we need to take to implement the KIDS system either in the Republic of Kenya or elsewhere.
“While we believe that our KIDS system offers significant value in integrating a nationwide healthcare system in counties lacking such a system, we have no prior experience in installing, operating, or maintaining the KIDS system or any such a system in any country. As a result, we cannot assure you that we are able to achieve any financial success in conducting the business required in installing, operating or maintaining the KIDS system whether in the Republic of Kenya or elsewhere,” the company wrote to SEC.
Firms which operate in the US are required to make filings with the powerful SEC if their securities are publicly traded in America, raised funds in the US or have shareholders required to file corporate actions with regulators in Washington.
