The Office of the President has defended a decision to ignore a local artisan manufacturing hospital beds in Juja, citing the low prices that the artisan was offering.
Following social media outcry that Meshack Otieno was sidelined because his second name starts with a small letter instead of a capital letter, the office of the president denied the accusations and added that it was simply a matter of economics.
“Otieno was offering his bed for KShs 25,000 as opposed to others who were offering it for only KShs 65,000. That low price cannot work well in a government setting. He is welcome to work with the government if he adjusts his price to a more decent level.”
Pressed further to explain why the low price would not work with the government, the response was more bizarre than we expected. “The government has a minimum threshold on what price is acceptable. If you factor in taxes, kickbacks, bribes and the general corruption associated with procurement, you will realize that Otieno may not make any coin from his venture. We are trying to protect him.”
Otieno, popularly known as Otis, is now left to continue hawking his beds to private hospitals, most of which have scaled down operations due to Covid-19.
