The government has announced a new set of directives aimed at ending the persistent salary delays affecting thousands of county workers across the country.
According to the communique from the 12th Ordinary Session of the National and County Governments Coordinating Summit held on Wednesday, December 10, the National Treasury will now be required to release all personnel-related funds to county governments much earlier in the month.
"The National Treasury shall disburse by the third day of every month all the related personnel emolument costs for all the county governments to the respective County Revenue Fund Account (CRF)," the report read.
The summit further directed the Controller of Budget and County governments to quicken the processing of funds to counties.
"The Controller of Budget shall expedite approval of releases to county governments. Subsequently, the County governments shall ensure that all the statutory deductions are paid out by the ninth day of every month," the report added
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Elsewhere, the summit announced new steps aimed at improving access to primary healthcare services, particularly maternal care.
"The Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors shall by the second week of January develop a framework for provision of maternity services at level two and three health facilities," the report stated.
The announcement further clarified that the financing of these services would be managed under the country’s new health insurance structure.
"In the immediate and subsequently, the associated charges shall be charged on the Primary Health Care Fund (PHCF) under the Social Health Authority (SHA) legal infrastructure," the report further read.
The summit also addressed concerns over delayed payments to Community Health Promoters (CHPs), who form the backbone of Kenya’s primary healthcare system.
"All stipends for the Community Health Promoters (CHPs) shall be promptly paid. Additionally, the CHPs shall be covered under the SHA insurance cover co-financed by the two levels of government on a 50-50 basis amounting to Ksh330 per CHP for each level of government," the report affirmed.
Elsewhere, this comes a day after Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale confirmed that the Kenya-U.S. health cooperation framework will run until 2030, after which the Kenyan government will fully take over the programme.
In an interview on Tuesday, December 9, he explained that the agreement is designed to strengthen the country’s healthcare system and integrate key disease programmes into SHA.
"The signed Kenya-U.S. health cooperation framework is for 5 years, up to 2030. After 2030, the Kenya government will take over the whole program. The goal is to build a more resilient healthcare system. HIV, malaria, TB will be integrated into SHA at the primary care level," he said.
Duale added that Kenya has a responsibility to invest in the health of its citizens and that the partnership supports the government’s ongoing budgetary efforts.
"We have a constitutional and moral duty to make sure that we take care of the health of our citizens. This deal is part of what we are budgeting and allocating for; it is reinforcing it.
"If we put the Ksh10 billion, Ksh20 billion, Ksh35 billion and we put the Ksh50 billion and we work with the Ksh210 billion that we are getting from the US, by 2030, the Kenya health care system will be resilient and sustainable," he stated.
Duale also clarified that the agreement respects Kenyan law, especially on matters of data sharing.
He said that Kenya’s legal framework takes precedence in case of any conflict between the two countries’ laws and outlined the exit clause in the agreement.
"This agreement, particularly the data sharing, is anchored in our laws. In the event there will be a conflict between the two laws of these two countries, the Kenyan law supersedes.
"In the event that either participants want to walk out of this agreement, it will give the other six months in writing so that they can call it a day," he explained.
