The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has demanded the Kenyan government to do a fresh audit of Covid-19 spending days after a report revealed that Sh17 billion worth of stocks at the Kenya Medical Suppliers Agency (Kemsa) were unaccounted for.
To show the government’s commitment to fighting graft, the Auditor-General, Nancy Gathungu, raised fresh queries on Covid-19 spending by Kemsa.
IMF foresees a situation where fresh audit will lay bare to detail the usage of the Covid-19 funds which were running into billions of shillings as funded by the institution.
Kenya had sought funding from IMF to facilitate Covid-19 response.
Part of the response was an ambitious vaccination drive targeting to inoculate the entire adult population by the end of 2022.
IMF gave Kenya Sh173 billion between March 2020 and December 2021.
IMF Mission head to Kenya Mary Goodman in a statement lauded Kenya’s move to disclose the identity of shareholders in firms with state contracts.
This will allow Kenyans to know the shareholders of firms who are engaged in fraudulent deals.
Further, this was part of a conditional loan where the Kenyan government was seeking Sh263 billion.
The Auditor General has also questioned the validity and accuracy of Kemsa’s inventory balance, including pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical stocks, of Sh17.73 billion as at June 30, June 2020 cannot be confirmed.
Kemsa, says it had procured Covid-19 items amounting to Sh7.6 billion, out of which stocks valued at Sh1.9 billion were issued out, leaving a Sh5.6 billion balance.