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{
    "id": 345851,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/345851/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 241,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dr. Monda",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 83,
        "legal_name": "Robert Onsare Monda",
        "slug": "robert-monda"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, happy New year to everyone. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority Bill be now read a Second Time. From the outset, I want to say that this is a Committee Bill which was drafted by the Committee after a lot of consultations with many stakeholders. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, allow me to give a brief history of the current Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA). The KEMSA is one of the oldest departments in the Ministry of Health. It was established in the early 1890s by the colonial government to act as a strategic national health store with the headquarters at the current railway station. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the department has operated under various names ever since. The recent ones were the Central Medical Stores, the Medical Supplies Co-ordinating Unit and the current one, which is Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA). Despite the department operating under various names its original role has been to procure, warehouse and distribute medical supplies to various public health facilities in the country. This mandate has been retained to date. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in the early 1990s the Government embarked on various health sector reforms. One of the targetted areas was reform of the medical supply scheme to make it more efficient and responsive to the national needs. This was in the realization that availability of quality drugs and other medical supplies is a critical input in the provision of quality healthcare to citizens. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as justification for the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority Bill, I wish to give a brief outline. I want to justify why we should have a Bill to create the Medical Supplies Authority. Currently, KEMSA is currently established under subsidiary legislation, Legal Notice No.17 of 2000, which is delegated power under the State Corporations Act. To this extent, KEMSA suffers from all the shortcomings of being established under subsidiary legislation instead of principal law. These shortcomings include lack of legislative certainty by Parliament over the subject matter as subsidiary legislation works at the whim of the Executive. The legal notice is captive to the provisions of State Corporations Act. The existing legal framework cannot provide for adequate functions or penalties for non-enforcement of the interpretation of general provisions of this Act."
}