Ebola: MPs anger at Sh670m proposal to fight threat

The Treasury on Saturday turned down a request by the ministry of health for Sh670 million to put in place measures to combat the threat of an Ebola outbreak in the country, it has emerged.

Cabinet Secretary of Health James Macharia told the parliamentary committee on health on Monday that he had requested the Treasury to release funds for putting in place Ebola contingency measures.

However, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich advised Mr Macharia to first use the Sh50 million set aside for his ministry to use during emergencies before asking for additional funds.

“We will be writing to the ministry by tomorrow (Tuesday) informing them of the shortfall, and that the funds should be released immediately,” Mr Macharia told the parliamentary committee.

Although no case of Ebola has been reported in Kenya, the country has put in place preventative measures after being rated in category 2 (high risk) by the World Health Organization.

'ECONOMY ON ITS KNEES'

The committee's vice chairman, Robert Bukose, said the amount being sought by the health ministry is too high and demanded that the Cabinet secretary produce a breakdown on how he intended to spend the money.

Mr Macharia, however, defended the proposed budget for the comprehensive Ebola contingency plan, saying if a case were to be reported in the country, the economy would be badly hurt.

He cited the case of Nigeria, one of the four West African nations hit by an Ebola outbreak, which he claims had spent an equivalent of Sh30 billion fighting the deadly virus.

“According to our estimation, spending Sh670 million on contingency plans is a drop in the ocean compared to how much we would spend if there were to be an outbreak of the Ebola virus in the country,” he said.