Wamatangi orders audit of hospitals staff payroll

Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi says health facilities have been gobbling more than Sh4 billion annually in salaries. [File, Standard] Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi has ordered a human resource audit in all health facilities as part of reforms in the health sector. He said the facilities have been gobbling more than Sh4 billion annually in salaries. The governor has asked the newly appointed hospital boards of all the 123 health facilities, in collaboration with the county public service department, to review each payroll. This will include a physical headcount of healthcare workers and support staff. According to the county chief, his government spends Sh7.2 billion annually on salaries and wages of approximately 6,000 workers, and Sh4.1 billion, which is about 57 per cent of the money, goes to the department of Health. The county boss believes that part of the money is siphoned through ghost workers who unscrupulously found ways into the system over the years in what he described as a "hardcore cartel". "Out of the Sh7.2 billion that we are paying as wages, Sh4.1 billion is only for health facilities. Not to pay for the drugs or any other supplies, but to pay workers," he said. "That math does not add up," he added. He said that most of the facilities are running wage bills that are not realistic. Wamatangi was addressing the new hospital board members during their inauguration at the county headquarters. He said his directive was as a result of an outcome of a physical headcount at Karuri Level Four Hospital in Kiambaa. Here, he noted that while the Department of Health pays 103 documented persons allegedly working in the facility, a headcount by the public service department only found 70 workers. The county government has recruited new hospital board members for its 123 health facilities in a bid to strengthen healthcare governance and enhance service delivery. These boards play an important role in policy implementation, financial oversight, staff welfare management, and improving patient care standards. Additionally, they will be instrumental in streamlining operations to curb corruption and eliminate the theft of drugs, ensuring that medical supplies reach patients without diversion or mismanagement. Wamatangi said the county was investing heavily in healthcare, but the gains were being frustrated by what he said was a cartel of some officials in the sector, and he said he was determined to crash it and ensure its smooth running. He said members of previous hospital boards used their position to influence the hiring of relatives and friends in public health facilities. "The system in there is a hardcore cartel, and this is not something that will be able to shake off immediately. When you get to the work of dismembering, letters will start flying to get justifications," he added. He said a previous headcount had revealed that people who had left the county government's employment were still drawing salaries. Wamatangi gave an example of a former driver who had left the county for a long-distance truck driving job from Mombasa to Rwanda was still earning from the county; another one was running an eatery in Voi, while another had relocated to Juja in Sudan but was still receiving monthly pay from the Kiambu County Government.

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