Governors want Sh7.7bn from Health Ministry before UHC staff transfer » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 1– The Council of Governors (CoG) has demanded the release of Sh7.7 billion from the Ministry of Health before county governments can take over the employment of staff under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programme.

In a statement issued after an extraordinary council meeting held to deliberate on human resource management in the health sector and implementation of e-procurement, CoG Chair Ahmed Abdullahi accused the ministry of attempting to shift responsibility to counties without providing the necessary resources.

“The Ministry cannot alter the contracts of the UHC staff without the involvement of County Governments,” Abdullahi said.

“The Council will only accede to the variation of the same upon the increase of the equitable share of revenue to factor the same.”

Abdullahi also dismissed claims that counties are dragging their feet on absorbing UHC staff, saying the narrative pushed by the ministry is misleading.

“The Ministry continues to paint a public picture that County Governments are derailing the process of absorbing the UHC staff. County Governments cannot be back-peddling with the Ministry over a devolved function,” the CoG chair said.

Further the governors called on the joint validation of the ongoing verification exercise of UHC staff and report officially shared before any transfer process begins.

The CoG also demanded the payment of gratuity amounting to Sh 9.4 Billion for staff currently under contractual term by the Ministry of Health prior to transition.

“Counties are amenable to employing the verified UHC staff-once resources are duly provided and previous obligations settled by the National Government,” CoG said.

On August 25, the Health Ministry reveled that it will absorb 7,414 health workers employed under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) into permanent and pensionable terms beginning September 2025.

According to Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, this follows a recently concluded joint headcount and verification exercise carried out by the State Department for Medical Services in collaboration with the Council of Governors (CoG).

 “Out of the 7,629 staff verified, 215 did not present themselves. having been identified as either non-existent (ghost workers) or not qualified health professionals and their salaries have been stopped, and they have been removed from the payroll pending further investigations to prosecute, determine and recover the irregular payment,” Duale said.

He noted that UHC staff with pending disciplinary cases or those absent from duty will not be absorbed.

Their cases will be reviewed in consultation with the Public Service Commission (PSC) in line with PSC Regulations 2020, which provide for separation, removal from the payroll, or other disciplinary measures.