Level five hospitals belong to counties, Peter Munya says
Council of Governors chairman Peter Munya at a past event. PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL
What you need to know:
- He said the calls by medics will remain a pipedream unless Kenyans change the Constitution.
- Mr Munya noted that the law only allows county governments to hand over functions to the national government through a legal process.
Calls by medical professionals that level five hospitals be taken over by the national government are impractical, governors have said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Kenya Veterinary Association’s 50th Annual Scientific Conference in Meru Town, Council of Governors chairman Peter Munya said the national government has no legal instrument to take over devolved functions.
He said the calls by medics will remain a pipedream unless Kenyans change the Constitution.
“Should the national government attempt to take over county functions, it will be breaching the Constitution,” said Mr Munya, the Meru governor.
“The talk that the national government can take devolved functions is orchestrated by bureaucrats, who feel they have lost prestige and power within the Ministry of Health.
“They keep dreaming that they can take devolved functions.”
Mr Munya noted that the law only allows county governments to hand over functions to the national government through a legal process.
“The transfer of functions was done through a constitutional process which is irreversible without a constitutional change,” he said.
He dismissed arguments that the health sector is not doing well under counties, saying services had improved tremendously.
