Ruto sustains onslaught against critics, defends SHA equipment project

President William Ruto yesterday sustained an assault against those spreading news about the controversial Social Health Authority (SHA) equipment tender. 

Ruto said the detractors had hatched a scheme to create a wedge between him and the county governments to derail the universal health plan and other development plans. 

Ruto said the reports that he was forcing county governments to procure hospital equipment were untrue, and that it was only a fool who could be duped by such rumours. 

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“There is nobody who forced the governors to sign contracts. You have to be a fool to be forced to sign the wrong thing and announce that you were forced. How foolish are you?” the President asked. 

He spoke a day after Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga told the National Assembly the county chiefs were in the dark over the National Equipment Service Project (NESP) contracts. 

Mr Kahiga, the Vice Chairman of the Council of Governors and a close ally of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, was testifying before the Public Accounts Committee PAC on contracts seeking to supply county-run hospitals with equipment. 

In a joint statement with Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa, CoG Chair Ahmed Abdullahi also dismissed Kahiga’s version of the event, saying there was a fix fee-for-service (FFS) model adopted by the two levels of government for the procurement of medical equipment services. 

They said the FFS model allows vendors to supply, maintain, and upgrade state-of-the-art equipment at no upfront cost to the county health facilities. 

“The model is different from the leasing option. To operationalise the FFS model, a transparent tendering process was undertaken informed by the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act,” the statement read. 

According to Dr Baraza and Governor Abdullahi, public advertisements were made in MyGOV bulletin, the Ministry of Health website, and the Public Procurement Information Portal in June 2024. 

“Tender submissions were received and opened in accordance to the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, in the presence of representatives from the Ministry, county governments, and bidders,” they said. 

Further, the two clarified that the evaluation process, conducted jointly by a representative from the Ministry of Health and county governments adhered to strict guidelines, including alignment with Social Health Authority SHA benefits tariffs. 

“An administrative framework has also been established jointly with the Ministry of Health and county governments to guide the implementation of the FFS model,” the two said. 

They added that county governments have signed, on a voluntary basis, Intergovernmental Participation Agreements to facilitate the programme. Under this arrangement, suppliers invest in and place medical equipment in the county health facilities at no upfront cost but will be paid a fee for services rendered.  

The two clarified that SHA reimburses facilities for the gazette tariff amounts, adding that the FFS model fosters transparency, efficiency, and sustainability while enhancing healthcare delivery to the nation.

“No one forced any county to be supplied equipment from any firm,” said Ruto during the opening of the Kilifi County International Investment Conference (KCIIC) in Vipingo.