Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has demanded the immediate suspension of the Social Health Authority (SHA) following Auditor General Nancy Gathungu’s revelations on the authority’s system.
In a statement on Wednesday, March 5, Omtatah said that SHA has become a dysfunctional system that exploits Kenyans instead of advancing universal healthcare coverage.
“The Auditor General’s report exposes SHA as a KSh 104 billion corruption scandal; a scheme the government neither owns nor controls. Funds meant for healthcare are funneled into private hands through non-competitive and unbudgeted procurement processes in blatant violation of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act (2015).
“Shockingly, 2.5% of member contributions are siphoned into an escrow account with unknown signatories, beyond public scrutiny. Disputes are then outsourced to the London Court of International Arbitration, deliberately bypassing Kenya’s legal system. This is not reform; it is an elaborate fraud designed to enrich a few at the expense of millions,” read part of the statement.
Omtatah went on to say that SHA is operationally collapsing with healthcare facilities refusing service due to unpaid claims and patients being forced to pay cash despite contributing to SHIF.
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According to the Busia Senator, the problems in SHA undermine public confidence and threaten the future of Universal Health Coverage in Kenya.
“I, therefore, demand the immediate suspension of SHA operations pending a full investigation into the Auditor General’s findings and a comprehensive overhaul of its framework. Furthermore, those responsible for this grand theft must be held accountable to prevent further plundering of public resources,” he added.
This comes after President William Ruto confirmed the Auditor General’s report saying a consortium of technology companies runs the SHA system to ensure the integrity of SHA and prevent fraudulent claims.
Speaking on Tuesday the President said that the new system is designed to protect citizens' contributions and will not be financed by the government but will instead operate on a fee-for-service model.
"We are going to have a consortium of technology companies that is going to make sure that there are no fraudulent claims in SHA. They are going to make sure that that system will not be paid for by the government; it will be a fee-for-service facility that will make sure that we protect citizens' contributions," said Ruto.
