FEATURED STORY

CS Kariuki fights to justify project branded ‘rip off’ by governors

Share
Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki. The government has banned use of Sodium Metabisulfite in meat or meat products following an expose that revealed that retailers use the chemical to prolong the shelf life of meat and its products to avoid incurring losses..
Share

At the heart of a tussle between Heath Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki and governors is the Medical Equipment Leasing Scheme (MES), the county chiefs who have appeared before the Senate Public Accounts and Investments Committee have described the project as a ‘rip off’ but the CS is of a different view, she says that the issue has been blown out of proportion.

Committee chairperson Moses Kajwang while grilling Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko on Tuesday said all governors who have appeared before the committee have said that the plan does not represent value for money adding the price of the equipment has been inflated from the initial Ksh 98 million that it was supposed to cost each county annualy when it was being launched in 2013 to Ksh 200 million.

Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV’s Daybreak on Thursday, CS Kariuki said that facts in the leasing of the equipment have grossly been misrepresented to paint the scheme as a white elephant.

“If we look at this carefully we will move from this mob justice when we are communicating the increase to the reality and then we will come back and say, was it worthwhile and was there value and then we will speak to Kenyans themselves,” said CS Kariuki.

The Health Cabinet Secretary faulted senators for the probe saying that they were consulted before the project took off in 2013.

READ: THE YOUTH ARE IRREDEEMABLY CORRUPT, UHURU SAYS AS HE DEFENDS AWORI’S NEW JOB

According to CS Kariuki, a number of factors have contributed to the increase in the price of leasing the equipment from Ksh 98 million to Ksh 200 million.

• Increase in the number of facilities covered from 96 by an additional 21 facilities which is expected to cost the counties another Ksh 3.2 billion.

• The intended ICT project which will cost the devolved units a whooping Ksh 4.7 billion.

• Additional investment in lab equipment which will cost counties Ksh 1.1 billion shillings.

• Variation in exchange rates since the investment was made in US dollars.

SEE ALSO: IS JOHO ROOTING FOR A GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE WHERE HE WOULD BE REGIONAL KING?

However the governors have protested the scheme which sees Ksh 200 million deducted from their equitable share annualy, something that the senators have jumped at.

While grilling Sonko, Nominated Senator Millicent Omanga alleged that the government is even leasing trolleys.

2 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Us

Related Articles
Affordable Housing Project
FEATURED STORY

Govt Puts Up For Sale 4,888 Affordable Housing Units: Here’s The Full List And How To Buy

The government has put up for sale 4,888 affordable housing units across...

Geraldine Sande, Channel Sales Leader for Schneider Electric East Africa
FEATURED STORY

How Working With ‘Glocal’ Original Equipment Manufacturers Can Empower East Africa’s Channel Partners For Success

Channel partners in East Africa, including resellers, distributors, system integrators and panel...

Treasury CS John Mbadi
FEATURED STORY

Understanding Tax Amendment Bills: How The New Laws Will Affect Kenyans

The government has announced several amendments to the existing tax laws to...

Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign & Diaspora Affairs
FEATURED STORY

Inside Kenya’s 60 Years of Diplomatic Journey

Kenya is set to commemorate 60 years of diplomacy this week starting...