Sh200bn ‘lying idle at ministry’, governors claim
What you need to know:
- Governors say health minister is causing chaos in the sector by withholding funds needed for services.
Governors on Sunday blamed Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia for the crisis in county hospitals, accusing him of withholding over Sh200 billion though the government manages only two referral hospitals.
Council of Governors chairman Peter Munya wondered what the huge allocation was for as the national government runs only Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.
The bulk of Level 5 hospitals were under counties, which were in dire need of funds to operate them, he said.
“What is such a huge amount doing at the ministry? This money should be sent to the counties, where it is needed to run hospitals,” he said.
The Meru governor also asked Mr Macharia to concentrate on reviving Kenyatta National Hospital, which, he said, was still in a pathetic state, instead of “touring counties to instigate strikes by health workers”.
'CHOREOGRAPHED' STRIKES
Mr Munya, who was speaking at the Methodist Church in Ruaraka, Nairobi, where he had attended a church service, also accused top officials in the national government of instigating the ongoing strikes by doctors in county hospitals that have crippled health services, in some cases leading to patient deaths.
“It is a choreographed attempt to create a crisis (in) the counties so as to have the management of the county hospitals returned … to the national government,” he said.
Mr Munya also said delays by the National Treasury in releasing money for doctors’ wages had contributed to the chaos, giving the medics a reason to down their tools.
A recent opinion poll indicated that a majority of Kenyans want health services returned to the national governments due to the sorry state of health services in the counties. The sector has been characterised by perennial unrest among health workers and a breakdown of services.
