Kilifi County seeks senate help to get Sh300m owed by SHA

The Social Health Authority (SHA) owes the Kilifi County Government more than Sh300 million.

This is according to Governor Gideon Mung’aro who wants the Senate Public Investment and Special Funds Committee to intervene so that it can be paid.

He said the unpaid bill had affected the delivery of health services in the county.

Munga'ro said the county was owed Sh140 million by the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), while the new system has accumulated a bill of Sh160 million.

“I've told patients that no one will be sent home because SHA has not released funds" However, the debt has negatively affected service delivery,” Mung'aro told the committee in his office.

The committee, led by Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi, toured the county to inspect completed and ongoing projects and ascertain prudent utilisation of county funds.

The governor told the committee that SHA had released a paltry Sh27 million to the county, which was insufficient to implement medical service provision.

The committee also inspected a wastewater management master plan, Kilifi County Referral Hospital, and the Malindi Water and Sewerage Company (MAWASCO).

Meanwhile, Munga'ro said MAWASCO has lowered its non-revenue water to 16 per cent. He called for stiffer punishments for those found capable of water theft.

“We have illegal connections of water in the county, and I am happy there’s a team set up by MAWASCO to crack down on illegal connections, but we are asking the Senate to amend the water act so that the penalties can be severe for criminals,” he said.

Osotsi said that they would follow up on the SHA remittance to ensure counties are refunded on time, as delays were affecting operations in the health sector countrywide.

“SHA has a huge debt that is now affecting service delivery in our hospitals, but we shall look into that to ensure that funds are released on time,” he said.

He added that they visited MAWASCO and found an improved non-revenue water loss programme, making them the top in the country in reducing non-revenue water loss.

“The Malindi water has demonstrated that it can eradicate losses in non-revenue water. MAWASCO is leading the issuing of smart meters and crackdown teams,” he said.

At the Waterfront Park in Malindi town, he said that they were investigating whether it was leased to a private developer and how it benefitted the county.