Counties ‘don’t have to buy Kemsa drugs’

Counties should only buy medicine from Kemsa if the parastatal is “competitive”, according to the Transition Authority.

While it is good to support Kenya Medical Supplies Agency by buying from it, counties should not accept second-rate service, TA chairman Kinuthia Wamwangi told reporters on Tuesday.

Issue cropped up

“Kemsa should not take advantage of its monopoly. They should give good services or counties will go elsewhere,” Mr Wamwangi said in Nairobi.

He spoke after opening a human rights conference of the Kenya Movement of Catholic Professionals in Nairobi.

Kemsa, which has traditionally supplied drugs to public hospitals and clinics countrywide was mandated by the Governors’ Summit chaired by President Kenyatta to continue the role.

The issue cropped up again last week when Jubilee senators proposed a Bill to anchor the agreement in law.

They argued that the supply of drugs to hospitals would be better done by a parastatal than devolved governments.

“Counties are already buying drugs from Kemsa without a legal framework. Most of the counties do not have the capacity to store vaccine and are working with Kemsa on that outside the law,” Senate Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki said.

But Cord lawmakers argued that counties should be free to buy medicine from any source.

Minority Leader Moses Wetangula said forcing counties to buy from Kemsa would undermine devolution.

Mr Wamwangi said the deal between Kemsa and counties was a “gentlemen’s agreement”, meaning that it can only hold as long as counties keep using Kemsa.

“If a county decides to go and buy medicine elsewhere, unless they have breached procurement laws, there is no legal penalty. But for now, there is that agreement.”

The agency estimates that hospitals countrywide will have consumed drugs worth Sh8 billion by December.

Traditionally, Kemsa buys, stores and supplies medicine to public health centres and hospitals.

Needs reforms

The parastatal’s advantage is that it gets a large discount from manufacturers, meaning counties can save money.

“But Kemsa needs reforms so it can get rid of corruption. Without reforms, it does not matter what else we do,” Dr Victor Ng’ani, Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union chairman told the Nation last evening.

The union has previously supported the amendments to the Kemsa Act, but Dr Ng’ani insists the agency itself must change the way it operates.

“We know Kemsa has an advantage because it receives discounts when it buys drugs. But despite having been in operation for long, there are still hospitals without drugs. Where do these drugs go?” he asked.