Local suppliers fault Sh35b medical equipment tender deal

An inaugural plan by the Government to lease medical equipment worth billions of shillings for public hospitals in all counties has run into trouble after local suppliers cried foul over the procurement process and sought Parliament’s intervention.

The Ministry of Health has floated a tender to award a contract for the equipment of referral health facilities through a Managed Equipment Service (MES) arrangement.

This will see the Government abandon the traditional purchasing of medical equipment and instead have qualified contractors supply the equipment and meet the cost of operating and managing them.

The ministry says it intends to equip the hospitals in two phases under a MES arrangement, under which the successful candidate(s) would be expected to supply, install, test, train users, replace and maintain the medical equipment on a long-term basis of between seven and 10 years.

The deal is estimated to be about Sh35 billion, with Treasury having allocated Sh3 billion for the pilot project this financial year.

The successful firm or consortium of firms that will clinch the deal is expected to sign a standard contract with each of the 47 counties, according to the tender terms.

Another hurdle

A clause in the contract requiring the successful candidate of tenders from Original Equipment Manufacturers who can also undertake managed equipment service, has not gone down well with local firms.

The firms, majority of who have been importing the medical equipment, fear that the clause is meant to technically lock them out. They have since petitioned Parliament to investigate claims of bias and favouritism.

Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia is expected to appear before the National Assembly Committee on Health on Thursday to answer to the concerns of the local bidders.

The tender whose submission deadline is yet to lapse is also facing another hurdle after the county governments which are running county and sub-county referral health facilities (Level 4 and Level 5 hospitals respectively), that are set to receive the equipment, rejected the plan.

Council of Governors (CoG) Monday said they will reject the equipment since there was no sufficient consultation between them and the National government over the procurement.

“No. We will tell the ministry that we don’t want the equipment since no agreements had been reached,” CoG chairman Isaac Ruto said when reached for comment.