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{
    "id": 1139278,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1139278/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 180,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 407,
        "legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
        "slug": "ledama-olekina"
    },
    "content": "I will remain very relevant to the discussion. Thank you for giving me an opportunity. Let me begin by wishing you a very happy new year. This is a year that will be very interesting for this country because it will be one that we will all be seeking a new mandate to represent our people. I hope that we will be judged by our people wisely by the fact that we have been doing the work for them. This is a very timely Bill. I am a little bit concerned and I do not know how my sister is going to resolve this issue. Yes, I fully support the repealing of that section that mandates the county governments to purchase drugs only from KEMSA. I am concerned about one thing. I am a member of the Committee on Health and during our deliberations and particularly on matters to do with KEMSA, we came to the revelation that KEMSA is owed a whopping Kshs3.9 billion by county governments. The Ministry of Health (MoH) owes KEMSA Kshs2 billion. So, the question that someone will have to answer is: Are we repealing this section so that we can bankrupt an already troubled entity or are we repealing this section to allow for competition to thrive? I am very careful because when the National Assembly drafted this legislation and they restricted the procurement of all medicine to KEMSA, there were certain prerequisites. There were things that were put in place to ensure that we do not have fake medicine coming into this country. I will be very careful to repeal this section when we have huge debts that county governments have not paid KEMSA amounting to Kshs3 billion. I would want the Mover of this Motion to tell the House how KEMSA will be paid its debts. Counties are not getting drugs because they are supposed to buy them from KEMSA. Are they not getting drugs because they do not pay KEMSA? We have to be very honest because the interest of every businessman out there is to be given a window to purchase drugs. However, when I read the reports from KEMSA from the structuring boards that says their hands are tied, order field rate now for drugs, for Panadol to reach Kwale County is 649 days, you know, the question that I ask is: Is it because Kwale County has not paid KEMSA or is it because KEMSA does not have those drugs? As we"
}