Just when you thought you’ve seen enough of crap the State parastatal have shitted on Kenyans so far, KNH, a national referral hospital defecates another.
Kenyatta National Hospital which is Kenya’s largest referral medical facility intends to put up a seven-storey private hospital to fund public services in the parent institution at a cost of Sh 15Billion.
Scandal filled KNH said in a public notice posted in the dailies that the 300-bed facility that will stand on 3.6 hectares will be developed under a design, construct, equip, finance, operate and maintain model within the next five years.
“Kenyatta National Hospital Board (KNHB) now wishes to have developed a separate private hospital (the Project) under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement that will serve fee-paying private patients, hence providing a source of additional funding to support the main public hospital,” says the published request for qualification (RFQ) notice.
According to thise involved, the level six facility whose construction commences in 2020 is allegedly set to offer premium services and will be a standalone facility with 500 motor vehicle parking slots.
“The prospective bidder must have acted as a hospital operator for not less than five years in a performance-based Level 6 specialist healthcare facility under a public-public partnership contract or a privately run Level 6 facility with a minimum 300 beds,” says the RFQ.
According to KNH management, the contractor will manage, maintain as well as procure and install hi-tech medical equipment as well as oversee delivery of clinical services.
Currently, KNH has a private wing where doctors run their own clinics but have to go to private hospitals to attend other patients.
The facility whose feasibility study is being undertaken by Chinese company Ernst & Young, is the first healthcare public private partnership (PPP) project in Kenya where investors build and own a facility for a number of years to recover costs and make profit before transferring it to the State.
The Secretary General and CEO of KMPDU Dr. Fn Oluga said this in relation to the statement published on dailies.
Kenya's largest public hospital wants to build a private hospital.
Doesn't even make sense but this is the kind of nonsense that denies Kenyans fair use of taxes to solve health needs.
In short, KNH wants to set up a medical facility that will be runned by private foreigners just the same way the loss making and economy killer SGR operates.
Latest updates from one of the most and recent tragic ocean accidents in Kenya’s coastline have indicated that the operations have found 6 more objects, possible cars, at the bottom of the Ocean.
The efforts to recorver the submurged car that claimed two lives with the bodies of the lost souls yet to be retrieved, had recieved a boost after Chinese divers joined the operations.
“Chinese Remotely Operated Vehicles, ROVs, are submersible, robotic systems, used to observe the depths of large bodies of water by operators from shore, or by divers in the water, have spotted 6 more cars at the Sea Bed” Reads a tweet from KenyanTraffic.
SIX CARS AT THE BOTTOM! MBSA FERRY DISASTER Chinese helping in the operation. Reports coming in that SIX vehicles have been identified on the sea bed in the channel. No politician have been spotted but they will APPEAR once bodies later via @DerrickOhatohttps://t.co/OZ8k5bcxnj
The tweet updates have been supported by government official Spokesperson Col. Rtd Cyrus Oguna while addresing the press in the afternoon.
Video courtesy of NMG/Youtube.
https://youtu.be/HT6Hgrkv1Tc
Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho has also spoken after a long mute since the accident occured in the waters at his Mombasa led County. Here is what the governor has said a few minutes ago via his official verified twitter account.
Three weeks ago, Kenya Insights wrote about why the Population of donkeys in Kenya has dropped by half in less than a decade. China interests in Kenya has seen an increase in demand for donkey meat both for local consumption and skin for export to China a move that has now caused a sharp decline in the animals in Kenya.
According to Animal rights activists, the overgrown demand to feed the billion population of Chinese could soon make donkey extinct in Kenya where they play a vital role as beasts of burden mostly in rural areas.
A few weeks after, a Chinese company operating a donkey abattoir in Lodwar, Turkana County is on the frying pan for selling uninspected donkey meat and enslaving local workers.
Angry Lodwar, Turkanas, resident have now urged the police to investigate Silzha Company Limited over claims of environmental pollution and mistreatment of local workers by the Chinese bosses. The firm is located at Napetet in Turkana Central, five kilometers from Lodwar town, and is run by two Chinese nationals.
According to local authorities, Silzha slaughters an average of 30 donkeys daily and exports the donkey meat to China and other countries.
“It is more than one a year and some of us have not been paid. I don’t have any source of money. We have been patient for a long time to the extent the walls of trust have started cracking. Donkeys from Sasame, Karebur, Kokuro, and Lomanakeju in Turkana North have not been paid for since last year. We have reported the issue to police station Lodwar OB 18/20/05/2019,” Mohammed Katembo, a field Manager of Silzha Limited said.
“Life is becoming hard here because we work with no pay, my family depends on me, my children are at home because of school fees, we are tired of empty promises each and every time,” Production supervisor Lucas Ereman stated.
Pieces of donkey meat packed in trays before transportation. [Bakari Ang’ela, Standard]
There have been also a lot of concerns on the safety of the meat. “We are giving government investigative agencies one week to ensure that this Chinese company is investigated and health measures put in place to guarantee the safety of meat and food handling, failure to which we will hold demonstrations” Joseph Emuria, a resident warned.
Emuria said the slaughterhouse has led to the theft of donkeys across the county as unscrupulous people rush to supply animals to the fast-growing abattoir.
“I foresee the extinction of donkeys in future if these the Chinese donkey meat dealers continue slaughtering the animals at this rate,” said Mr Emuria.
He alleged that the company is exporting rotten meat to unknown destinations as public health officers take no action. The local residents led by their area chief Patrick Lorogoi also raised concern over increasing cases of donkey theft in the area. Lorogoi said complaints of donkey theft have been reported to the police who have launched investigations.
“We suspect that the Chinese are buying stolen donkeys unknowingly. We have established that they don’t ask for livestock movement permits, but that is a matter under investigation,” the Chief reported.
He said he has received complaints from several residents working as casual labourers in the Chinese firm who claim they have been working without payments for several months.
“There are several Chinese nationals doing manual jobs in the abattoir and we suspect they are illegal immigrants. We have asked the police to investigate them but no action has been done. We have been demanding for our pay for more than three months but they have refused to release our dues,” a worker in the abattoir who declined to be named for fear of victimization alleged.
On their defense, Liu Wenchen and Jiang Baogui, the Chinese nationals managing the abattoir denied the claims, saying they export quality donkey meat.“We package and sell all the meat to our international markets. We don’t want wastage because we buy the donkeys at high prices,” he said.
But inside, workers were busy loading donkey meat in carton boxes amid a stinking smell of meat. There are no refrigerators to store the meat awaiting export.
“We are not happy with the manner in which the Chinese are doing the donkey meat business. We have reported this matter to relevant government officers but our concerns have fallen on deaf ears.” A donkey keeper Geoffrey Lokuruka said.
Turkana Central sub-county Police Commander David Mburukwa said police are investigating six Chinese labourers working in the abattoir after complaints that they were in the country illegally.
“For now, we are not looking into the complaints raised by locals working in the abattoir because that is a labour issue and can be handled by other organs,” Mburukwa said.
However, company manager Liu Wanchen said the firm was facing financial challenges and promised that they will be paid soon. Ironically, Liu acknowledged that they usually export spoilt meat to avoid unnecessary losses because they buy animals at higher prices.
Turkana Veterinary Doctor Benson Longo’r told The Standard the county was also investigating the abattoir for failure to adhere to health standards and Kenyan rules. He said the county department had previously warned the management against dealing in uninspected donkey meat.
“There are times we have stopped the company from slaughtering some sick donkeys that according to our assessment, their meat would be unfit for consumption,” he said.”Let them pack spoiled meat but they will not get transportation permit,” he warned.
Which are your favorite foods? As you think of the answers, Thomas Odembo, a 35 year old watchman by profession from Ogongo village in Nyatike Sub County has chameleons, lizards and tortoises as his favourite food.
Mr Odembo says he developed appetite and interests on chameleons, lizards, tortoises, cats and dogs when he was employed as a guard for a Chinese supplier.
Odembo who rears his own animals to feed on in his compound says everyone should try his tastes.
“These food is actually healthy and totally sweet that any other red or white meats that people are eating.” Odembo told a local daily.
“I have lost appetite for cow and goat meat. I don’t eat pork too. I have enough chameleons and tortoises for myself and I’m ready to supply the village the surplus,” Odembo said.
“I took chameleon last night for supper, this tortoise was brought by a neighbor who found it in his garden,” Odembo said.
Odembo the father of seven says he learnt how to rear and prepare these animals from his former bosses, the Chinese.
Odembo says the Chinese eat these animals and they don’t affect them. He is urging all the fellow village people to start embracing this new diet.
Odembo went ahead and explained that the animals taste just like ordinary meat.
“My favourite meal time and again is reptiles especially snakes, lizards, chameleons and tortoise. My wife, Pauline Akoth and my seven children don’t eat my food. They call it trash and poison” Odembo explained.
Away from our custom foods; Chinese presence in Africa has introduced alien food culture in this continent.
From eating dogs, crabs, snakes, and some people say they trap and fry houseflies.
Chinese have managed to flood Africa’s markets with their processed foods and powdered drinks.
With other governments banning majority of Chinese products. There has been an increase in Chinese genetically modified foods. These neo colonialists have developed a new trick to flood our markets.
Recently, a video went viral on social media where crocodiles were being sold in Nigeria’s local markets.
Not only Nigeria, but Zambia has crabs and snakes being auctioned live and dead on the markets.
In Kenya, Chinese are making good use of the famous Lubao market-based which locals sell live dogs.
Local entrepreneurs are happily venturing into these business but language barriers and one sided customers is their biggest set back.
The Nigerian authorities have since cleared the crocodile markets and asked the Chinese visitors to buy wild meat from authorised vendors.
What’s your views about the Chinese wild appetite. Would you like to test their wild tastes?
