Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has come out strongly in defence of the Social Health Authority (SHA), accusing critics of spreading misinformation about the programme’s performance.
Speaking in Manda Shianda ward, Malava constituency, during the burial of UDA parliamentary aspirant Dr. Enock Andanje, Mudavadi dismissed claims that the government was to blame for problems facing some hospitals under SHA.
He singled out St. Mary’s Hospital in Mumias, saying the facility had been paid substantial funds yet continued to point fingers at the Ministry of Health.
“The hospital put forward a claim of Ksh117 million under the SHA program, and so far, they have received Ksh82 million. Those saying government has refused to pay are misleading Kenyans,” Mudavadi told mourners.
The PCS said politicians attacking SHA were doing so without evidence, stressing that the Ministry of Health had full records of payments. He maintained he was ready to produce documents showing the money released to the facility in November and December last year and subsequent disbursements.
Mudavadi assured Kenyans that the government remained committed to making SHA work, but warned against attempts to discredit it by shifting blame.
“Mismanagement and lack of accountability by hospital administrators should not be used as an excuse to condemn the program. If the management of St. Mary’s cannot account for what it has received, then it must carry its own cross,” he said.
He further accused some facilities of deliberately withholding information on SHA transactions to sabotage the scheme, adding that the government was aware of the challenges facing the transition.
“Cartels were using the old system to loot and cripple health services. Now that we are demanding accountability, some hospitals are resisting. They shout that the President, Mudavadi, or Wetangula must be accountable, yet when asked to show how they spent the money, they go silent,” he cautioned.
Mudavadi insisted the government would continue addressing gaps in SHA to ensure every Kenyan has access to quality healthcare.
