Maravi

Court hears how Dr Miti signed Kahekam contract

Court hears how Dr Miti signed Kahekam contract
By Namatama Mundia
Thu 10 June 2010, 04:01 CAT

FORMER Ministry of Health permanent secretary Dr Simon Miti on Tuesday told the court that he was misled into signing the Kahekam contract for the extra 50,000 mother-baby-kits by the head of procurement at the ministry, Abel Katongo

This is in a matter before Lusaka magistrate Kenneth Mulife where former human resources manager Henry Kapoko and eight others are facing theft charges relating to a contract awarded to Kahekam Limited for the supply of mother-baby-kits to the Ministry of Health.

Testifying in the matter after the state prosecutor asked why he signed the contract when there were a lot of anomalies, Dr Miti said he was misled into signing the contract by then contract manager Katongo, one of the accused persons.

Dr Miti recollected that the ministerial tender committee (MTC) meeting was held on January 21, 2009 and not September as earlier said on Monday.

He said the tender committee meeting was initially chaired by then permanent secretary Dr Velepi Mtonga.

Dr Miti said he did not attend the meeting but upon return from official duty as a presidential doctor to late president Levy Mwanawasa, he was briefed in his capacity as the substantive permanent secretary.

“What actually happens when somebody was acting, upon my return, that person will give me hand over notes that would also be discussed in the ministerial meeting. I would also be informed during the ministerial meetings, which were held every Mondays and Wednesday. We used to hold MTC meetings during which I would also be informed,” Dr Miti explained.

“Yes, I would like to state to this court when I endorsed the contract on 23rd January, 2009, it was on the same day in the evening when there was an announcement from State House that I was transferred from Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Vocational Training and that is how I could not have been briefed.”

He said the letter from Melcome Limited dated January 22, 2009 was critical because it influenced the decision in the MTC and was addressed to the health ministry permanent secretary at Ndeke House.

He said the letter informed his office that Kahekam had been awarded the contract to deliver mother-baby-kits within six to eight weeks. Dr Miti told the court that the letter from Kahekam was never received by his office and therefore not acted upon.

“If it had been received by the office of the PS, it would have had a date stamp stamped on the document with clear instructions as to how the office of the PS would have been viewed this letter and the office of the PS would have assessed the contents of the letter and would have referred it to competent authority within the ministry,” he said.

Dr Miti said he was not aware of a letter from Melcome, which was shown to him at ACC, a response to a letter from health ministry on a proposal to supply an extra 50,000 kits.

“…All letters which are going out are supposed to go through the PS so I was wondering as to what Melcome was responding to. The other discrepancy is when I requested to be shown the evaluation report in which the extra 50,000 kits was discussed and analysed for the MTC to make that decision to offer Kahekam the 50,000 kits…there was no evaluation report in relation to the extra 50,000 kits,” he said.

Dr Miti said in the absence of an evaluation report, there was no way according to the procedure that Kahekam could have been awarded the contract to supply the extra 50,000 kits.

Labels: CORRUPTION, MINISTRY OF HEALTH, SIMON MITI

posted by MrK @ 3:50 PM