All non-core staff members to work from home in restructuring process, Kemsa orders
All non-core staff members at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa) have been directed to work remotely for 30 days in restructuring process.
In a statement, board chairperson Chao Mwadime said the directions follows the submission of a report and recommendations to the board by the Kemsa Immediate Action Plan and Medium-Term Reforms Working Committee.
According to Mwadime, the employees will be appraised throughout the notice period.
“The release of all staff to work from home is a procedural formality to facilitate the review of the organisational structure and will be undertaken expeditiously to ensure that the staff complement is fit for purpose and within the approved staff establishment levels,” she said.
According to Mwadime, Kemsa is currently grossly underperforming and largely unable to meet clients’ urgent needs, particularly the delivery of essential medicines and products to the counties, referral hospitals and programs.
Mwadime said the core operating teams under a caretaker management team have been notified, appointed and mobilised to ensure seamless operations in the intervening period.
This comes after reports of looming massive job lay-offs at the scandled-riddled agency.
The State Corporations Advisory Committee (SCAC) recommended the sacking of nearly half the state agency’s workforce.
According to a source, the agency is planning to replace the sacked employees with the National Youth Service (NYS).
On Monday Embakasi Member of Parliament Babu Owino wrote to Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe seeking the explanation of the massive sacking of the entire workforce.
“Can the Cabinet Secretary for Health explain why he intends to sack all Kemsa staff, over 800 in number, 80 per cent of which are my constituents?” posed Babu.
“What procedure is the ministry going to lay-off workers and what happens to those that have loans with financial institutions and were sure that their jobs are secure.”
President Uhuru Kenyatta overhauled the entire Kemsa Board of Directors on April 29, in the wake of multi-billion-shilling scandals plaguing the medical supplies agency.
Mary Chao Mwadime took over from former board chairman Kembi Gitura, who was moved to Communications Authority (CA) on March 17, 2021.
