Senators on Tuesday grilled top officials from the Ministry of Health (MoH) over a significant increase in expenditure despite the ministry’s budgetary allocation for the current financial year ending June. Appearing before the Senate Health Committee, chaired by Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago, the officials were pressed to explain how the ministry’s recurrent expenditure had surged by 98 percent despite uncompleted projects and a request for additional funding in the new financial year.
“These figures don’t make sense; you have huge pending bills. You have not completed this financial year’s projects but want to carry out more in the next year. Why not look for money to complete them first?” Mandago questioned.
Principal Secretary for the State Department for Medical Services, Harry Kimtai, attributed the increase to presidential directives and social programs aimed at supporting needy persons. However, Mandago dismissed the justification as “irrelevant,” stating that such functions fall under county governments’ jurisdiction.
According to Kimtai, MoH’s budget increased from Ksh.118 billion to Ksh.204 billion across the Medical Services and Public Health and Professional Standards state departments. He explained that his Medical Services department had seen an increase of Ksh.80 billion, primarily due to the inclusion of the Social Health Authority (SHA) budget within the ministry’s allocation.
“For the first time, SHA has been domesticated in our budget, which has led to a growth of Ksh.76 billion,” Kimtai told senators.
However, Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina raised concerns over what he termed as “unnecessary spending” at MoH, calling for urgent corrective measures. He argued that the introduction of SHA “does not hold any water” since the authority was intended to operate semi-autonomously.
“The 98 percent increase does not make sense; it opens an avenue for misuse of government money,” Ole Kina stated.
He further criticized the ministry for encroaching on devolved functions, citing the Ksh.990 million earmarked for building health facilities.
“That money should be sent to county governments,” he emphasized.
Alongside Kimtai, Public Health and Professional Standards PS Mary Muthoni and Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa also appeared before the Senate Committee to respond to the concerns raised.
