NAIROBI, Kenya – Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli says COTU is weighing whether to withdraw from the Social Health Authority (SHA) board.
Atwoli cited its limited mandate and inability to safeguard workers’ contributions.
“Cotu is currently deliberating on whether to continue sitting on a board that has limited authority, or to withdraw entirely,” he said.
Atwoli argued that SHA, established as an independent body under the law, is being undermined by its reliance on an information technology (IT) platform managed by the Digital Health Authority (DHA) and the Ministry of Health (MoH).
This, he said, has stripped SHA of the power to verify claims and determine payments to hospitals.
“At present, SHA relies on an IT system controlled by DHA and MoH to process and pay hospitals, and this has created challenges because the authority has no mandate over authentication of claims or determining who should be paid.”
He stressed that workers’ contributions must be directly managed by the authority as envisaged by law.
Atwoli’s remarks land as SHA battles mounting credibility crises.
In recent weeks, the authority has been dogged by corruption scandals, with Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale revealing that billions of shillings in fraudulent claims have been uncovered.
More than 40 health facilities have been suspended, while at least 31 hospitals have been shut down over irregular billing, including ghost patients and duplicate claims.
The scandals echo the troubled past of the defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), which was plagued by systemic fraud and poor governance.
