Mudavadi
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has dismissed critics claiming that the Social Health Authority plan is not functioning.
Speaking on Thursday in Malava constituency during the burial of UDA Malava Parliamentary seat aspirant Enock Andanje, Mudavadi said several hospitals eligible for the SHA program are mismanaging their operations and apportioning blame to the Ministry of Health and the government.
“I am here to set the records straight. Those politicians using podiums to say that the government is behind the troubles facing St. Mary’s Hospital in Mumias are misleading the people.
“The hospital put forward a claim of Ksh 117 M under the SHA program, and so far, they have received Ksh 82 M in payment,” said Mudavadi.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary said some politicians have continuously castigated the program without proper facts.
“The government, through the Ministry of Health, has the records, and I am a witness. I have a copy of the records. If they want to dispute and bring on an argument, I am ready to produce the evidence of what they received in November and December last year and the subsequent payments under the SHA program,” he explained.
Mudavadi assured Kenyans that the government is continuously looking into shortfalls in the Social Health Authority (SHA) to ensure all Kenyans have access to quality medical care.
He cautioned that misappropriation and mismanagement by individual hospitals and health facilities should not form the basis of condemning the program and pointing fingers at the government.
“I am giving Kenyans these figures because I know people are malicious; they don’t want this program to roll out in full. If the management of St Mary’s hospital is unable to demonstrate accountability, then they carry their own cross.” Mudavadi regretted.
“When politicians, for lack of knowledge and without any substantiated facts, stand up and accuse the government, claiming that SHAH is not working, they should ask the hospitals they are accountable to?” Posed Mudavadi.
Adding that “The SHA claims have to be verified first, and what we are putting across as government is that everybody must be accountable from bottom to up and from up to bottom.”
Mudavadi accused a number of health facilities that are hiding crucial evidence on the SHA program, giving room for downgrading the program.
