NYERI, Kenya, May 17 – Nyeri Senator Ephraim Maina called on an anti-graft probe on county officials on Monday while decrying a rising number of deaths triggered by an acute shortage of drugs in county-run hospitals.
Addressing a press conference in Nyeri, Senator Maina said the shortage of drugs in the facilities was as a result of misappropriation of funds by county officials.
“I call upon investigating authorities to conduct an audit on utilization of funds by the county government. The reason why they are no drugs in hospitals is due to fact that money meant for drugs has been diverted for other uses which is improper,” the legislator lamented.
Senator Maina said that most of the funds meant to buy drugs had been siphoned by corrupt officials in Governor Mutahi Kahiga’s administration hence the need for a probe to put those responsible behind bars.
“It’s unfortunate that poor residents seeking medical services are suffering due to actions by heartless people who should be punished,” he remarked.
The Senator called for the prioritization of healthcare saying infrastructure projects could be halted to free up more resources for health facilities.
