The COVID-19 Interventions Report for Financial Year 2019/20 released by Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development’s Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit (BMAU) in October 2020 has exposed the rot surrounding procurement of key items.
The report reveals that the Ministry of Health signed three contracts with M/S JMS (Joint Medical Stores) worth Shs1.3bn to supply 1,000 beds and mattresses, 2,000 blankets and 2,000 bed sheets.
The unit cost of each bed was Shs890, 000 and Shs119, 491 for a mattress covered with PVC cover.
The report says that JMS supplied 2,000 single size bed sheets at a cost of Shs51, 500 on 23rd June 2020.
“All the beds and mattresses were reportedly delivered,” the report says.
However, the monitoring team verified delivery of only 331 beds and mattresses.
The report adds that the list of the rest of the beds was not availed to the monitoring team.
“Although over 300 beds were moved from Namboole (Quarantine
Centre then) to Mulago Hospital, the latter acknowledged receipt of only 290 instead of the 300 beds communicated by the MoH,” the report says.
It adds that Mulago hospital also received 108 mattresses which were not commensurate to the beds provided.
The report says three of beds were already broken and were left at Namboole.
