Health Cs Mutahi Kagwe appeared before the parliamentary committee to shed light on the disbursement of Covid-19 funds to the counties – By Enock Mukoma.
The CS in his response sort to clarify that his ministry is not in charge of the entire covid-19 fund but it receives only 15% of the entire fund.The remaining amount the cs tossed the ball to the treasury
“COVID-19 funds are not health ministry funds…Money assigned to MOH is about 15 per cent of the COVID-19 fund…it is being made to look like 15 per cent is 100 per cent,” said Kagwe.
In her responses, Health PS Susan Mochache in the Ministry gave a break down of how funds were disbursed to referral hospitals.
She said Ksh.3 billion of the ministry’s supplementary budget is what was disbursed for treatment to various facilities across the country among them Coast General Hospital (Ksh.500 million), Jaramogi Oginga Odinga TRH (Ksh.400 million), Kitui hospital (Ksh.300 million), Mandera hospital (Ksh.300 million), KNH (Ksh.600 million), MTRH (Ksh.400 million) and KU Hospital (Ksh.500. Million).
Further Mochache said that the ministry received sh 1.5 billion that was given to the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority, to procure testing kits and reagents.
Additional funds were also given to KEMSA for the provision of reusable face masks while sh. 200m was spent on quarantine facilities as expenses.
part of the expenses include payment of officers manning the centres as well as the maintenance of the facilities.
PS Mochache added that the her ministry received a further sh. 5 billion which was distributed to all 47 counties as grants to equip the counties in readiness to fight the virus at that level.
” It communicated accordingly to counties that the money was expected to be spent on counties to prepare emergency response plan, building capacity for isolation and quarantine support and training of health workers,” she said.
When asked on the ministry follow up to ensure accountability? CS Mutahi weighed into clarify
”On the issue of accountability, when we (MOH) disburse funds, there is clarity on what should be done…it is not conditional…as a ministry we do not have accountability on it as it comes from Treasury.”, he said.
He also touched on the issue of KEMSA graft allegation, urging for patience as investigations are underway while he refuted to the social media stories as fiction and inuendos.
He was clear that the law be allowed to take its cause as he is determined to dismantle the cartel that is threatening the health sector at Afya house.
