Nairobi, Kenya, Nov 5- The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union (KMPDU) has called on the suspension of the notice of redundancy which was issued Thursday to staff at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) in the ongoing reforms at the organisation.
KEMSA Board directed all staff to work from home to facilitate what it described as ‘organizational reform’ in efforts to end corruption, inefficiency and mismanagement.
“That the purported restructuring as communicated by the KEMSA Board chair and the general notice of potential redundancy sent to KEMSA staff be suspended to allow for further engagement of stakeholders including the unions and professional associations,” KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah said.
The reforms at KEMSA which sources say include the deployment of the military has sparked mixed reactions, with Senate demanding an explanation from Health CS Mutahi Kagwe. The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has termed the move “null and void” and vowed to challenge it in court.
The KMPDU further urged the KEMSA Board to speed up the process to end the funds misuse as documented in the report of the Auditor General on KEMSA for the year ended 30 June 2019 that indicated that Sh419 million project funds could not accounted for with an additional Sh 76.5 million spent on the constriction of the KEMSA ultramodern warehouse and office block at Embakasi also unaccounted for.
“That National government and County governments pay all their outstanding bills at KEMSA that currently stand at KES 3.99 billion which is 85% of the KEMSA budget for the financial year 2020/2021 of KES 4.665 billion,” KMPDU said.
The KMPDU further urged KEMSA to employ more pharmacists to forestall further wastages in dead/obsolete stock and expiries.
In early July, a multi-agency Taskforce was formed to provide an independent operating recovery strategy for KEMSA to facilitate organizational effectiveness. The KEMSA Immediate Action Plan and Medium-Term Reforms Working Committee (KIAPRWC) comprised a panel of local public service administration experts backed by international counterparts drawn from the World Bank and the Africa Resource Centre.
