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United States company General Electric (GE), which won a Sh25.5 billion contract to supply radiology equipment under the Managed Equipment Services project was awarded the tender irregularly, a Senate committee has said.

The firm was contracted to supply radiology equipment where 98 hospitals were expected to be equipped with digital X-ray, ultrasound and other imaging equipment.

The Senate ad hoc committee investigating the procurement of the Sh63 billion scheme said the contract was signed by Farid Fezoua, the President and chief executive officer, GE Healthcare Africa, who is neither supplier nor manufacturer of the equipment.

Appearing before the committee chaired by Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo, GE Healthcare Africa, chief finance officer Shan Glover and Healthcare East Africa Services CEO Brenda Mbathi were unable to explain why they signed the multi-billion-shilling contract with the Ministry of Health  yet they were not the manufacturers of the equipment.

While the contract required that suppliers be manufacturers of the medical equipment, Senator Dullo said those who signed the contract were neither shareholders nor manufactures of the equipment.

“We expected those who were awarded the contract to be manufacturers. If they were manufacturers, it should be indicated in the signed contract documents,” Dullo said.