President William Ruto is facing criticism following his remarks dismissing concerns raised about alleged financial irregularities within the Social Health Authority (SHA).
The dispute centers on claims that Ksh50 billion may have been lost within the health financing system, an issue highlighted in findings by the Office of the Auditor General.
While addressing the matter, Ruto rejected the claims, noting that large amounts is currently being paid to hospitals under the new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) arrangement.
“Forget the propaganda that we lost Ksh50 billion. This week alone we are paying Ksh16.2 billion for SHIF. We are paying the highest amounts of money to any hospital that has ever been paid under any administration,” he said.
However, Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has disagreed with Ruto’s remarks, arguing that dismissing findings linked to the Auditor General’s office undermines the constitutional role of independent oversight institutions.
“The President is out of order. The Office of the Auditor General is a constitutional office, not a department of State House. Dismissing a report that questions the loss of Ksh50 billion from SHA undermines the Constitution itself,” he said.
Omtatah further stressed that the issue involves public funds contributed by citizens and should not be underestimated.
“Ksh50 billion is not a clerical error; it is public money collected from the sweat of Kenyans. To brush aside such findings insults every Kenyan who struggles to access healthcare while public resources disappear,” he added.
Omtatah said the president’s argument misses the central issue. He said that paying hospitals does not answer questions about how public funds collected from Kenyans under the new healthcare financing framework will be managed and who will be held accountable for them.
“To brush aside such findings insults every Kenyan who struggles to access healthcare while public resources disappear. You cannot swear to protect the Constitution on Tuesday and tear it up on Wednesday because the truth hurts,” Omtatah added.
Omtatah said that trying to discredit constitutional oversight institutions could make people less trusting of government programmes, especially the country’s healthcare reforms. He said that millions of Kenyans give money to the fund because they hope it will help people get medical care more easily.
