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NAIROBI, KENYA: Governors are not satisfied with the Sh1.8 billion conditional allocation to regional hospitals, lamenting it is a far cry to the Sh10 billion they had requested.
The county chiefs said they had sought between Sh8 billion and Sh10 billion for level five hospitals but regretted the national government ignored their proposal.
Council of Governors (CoG) Chairman Isaac Ruto, governors James Ongwae (Kisii) and Paul Chepkwony (Kericho) regretted that despite their persistent appeals for increased allocation to the health sector, the funding was instead reduced. The governors alleged that the national government is underfunding devolved health services so that counties fail to manage them, thus create an excuse for their return to the central government.
"In the last financial year, level five hospitals used Sh3.7 billion, "noted Ruto.
Parliament voted the Sh1.8 billion following recommendations made in a report to the Senate and National Assembly by a mediation team last week.
"Counties are set to receive Sh226 billion and additional conditional allocation of Sh1.87 billion and this is not what were requested. Counties should have been allocated Sh238 billion on the minimum," said Ruto.
He revealed that counties will be short of Sh14 billion to effectively run their operations as required by law.
The governor who spoke to The Standard on phone affirmed that counties are willing to spend 30 per cent of their allocation on recurrent expenditure and 60 per cent on development, if they receive adequate funds. Ongwae noted that Parliament was not being transparent on the counties allocations. Chepkwony expressed disappointment that counties might not run the health facilities with the meager resources. The 11 hospitals are located in Nyeri, Kisii, Thika, Embu, Meru, Machakos, Garissa, Coast, Nakuru, Nyanza and Kakamega towns.
However, the Jubilee government has dismissed claims that the national government wants to take back health services that were devolved to counties. Deputy President William Ruto at the weekend said governors had played a critical role in streamlining the sector, despite the myriad challenges associated with devolution.
Ruto explained that the Government had set aside Sh34 billion to develop at least two level five hospitals in each of the 47 counties. "We are keen on ensuring Kenyans do not struggle in accessing essential medical services by devolving critical and essential services closer to them to fulfill their right to accessible and affordable healthcare," Ruto affirmed.
Senator Kipchumba Murkomen's said that it was impossible, according to article 187 of the Constitution, to revert the health function to the national government without a signed agreement.
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