Only fools can be forced into signing contracts – Ruto to governors over medical equipment deal
Kahiga told the Committee that 34 county governments had signed the deal under duress, citing financial constraints that left them with no alternative but to accept the terms.
Governors who claimed they blindly signed a medical equipment leasing deal with the national government are now on their own, as President William Ruto has strongly distanced the national government from the controversial contracts.
President Ruto took aim at county governors, including Vice-Chairman of the Council of Governors (COG) Mutahi Kahiga, who had told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that county officials were kept in the dark about the National Equipment Service Project (NESP).
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Kahiga told the Committee that 34 county governments had signed the deal under duress, citing financial constraints that left them with no alternative but to accept the terms.
The project was designed to supply medical equipment to county hospitals, but the governors have expressed frustration over the lack of involvement in the procurement process.
"We had no option but to sign the deal. Counties do not have the funds to buy this equipment,” Kahiga told the PAC, led by Senator Moses Kajwang’.
He went on to reveal that counties did not know the suppliers or the procurement process, as it was entirely managed by the Ministry of Health.
"We did not procure the machines, it’s the Ministry of Health that did the procurement. They even put out advertisements in the newspapers. We were not involved,” he added.
However, speaking on Thursday in Kilifi County, President Ruto sharply refuted the governors' claims, asserting that all necessary processes had been thoroughly followed, with experts involved in costing the equipment.
"There was a procurement process with counties and the Ministry of Health represented. There was no obligation by any county to get any equipment from any supplier,” he said.
He further criticised the accusations, describing anyone who claimed to have been forced into signing the contracts as “conmen and liars.”
“Nobody forced them to sign any contract. You have to be a fool to be forced to sign something and you actually sign it,” Ruto said.
The President assured the public that under his leadership, fraudulent activities in the health sector would not be tolerated.
“I will look Kenyans in the eye and tell them that there will be no corruption in the health sector as long as I'm in charge,” he said, emphasising the need to eradicate fraud and ensure value for money in health services.
The row between the national government and the county governors has raised concerns about the success of the National Equipment Service Project, with some warning that it may mirror the failures of the previous Sh63 billion Medical Equipment Service (MES) programme, which left counties with unusable equipment.
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