The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) CEO Andrew Mulwa on Tuesday was put in the spotlight over Auditor General's report on expired drugs in the agency's stocks for the financial year that ended in June 2018.
Mulwa was appearing before the Public Investments Committee on Social Services Administration and Agriculture to explain anomalies in the agency's financial reports.
According to the Auditor General report, KEMSA still stocked expired and damaged drugs worth Ksh150 million that were rendered unsalable in the financial year 2017/2018.
The report further accused KEMSA of purchasing more drugs whose expiry date was fast approaching.
KEMSA could not also confirm the accuracy and validity of the net sales of Ksh7 million for the period under review.
While citing the auditor general report, Navakholo Member of Parliament Emmanuel Wangwe, questioned whether the expired drugs were safely destroyed.
In his defence, the acting CEO attributed the damages to the change of governance structure in the country.
"KEMSA's business model is a "Pull" system where Counties and other public health and faith-based facilities determine what they require and buy the same. After devolution, the entire public health supply chain system moved from "PUSH" to "PULL" and some commodities attracted little or no demand from these facilities. Over time, these commodities exhausted their shelf life," he stated.
The report also exposed the authority for having 418 more employees than required.
In the period under review, KEMSA had 759 employees against the approved 341, resulting in excess spending and a bloated wage bill.
"Board sittings and drawn allowances whose minutes were not provided during audit, issues around land and motor vehicles ownership and Insurance services and expenses were also raised," read a report from parliament.
Officials from KEMSA will appear before the committee again for further inquiries later in September.
