NAIROBI, Kenya – The Council of Governors (CoG) has accused the Ministry of Health of attempting to “set up” county governments by blaming them for delays in absorbing staff under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programme.
In a statement issued after an extraordinary meeting on Monday, CoG chair and Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi said counties would not take over the staff until the national government settles outstanding obligations running into billions of shillings.
The governors demanded Sh7.7 billion be provided upfront to cover salaries at Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) rates, alongside Sh9.4 billion in gratuity for existing contract workers.
They also insisted that the ongoing verification of UHC staff must be jointly validated and shared before any transfer takes place.
“Counties are ready to employ the verified UHC staff, but only after the national government provides resources and settles its existing obligations,” Abdullahi said.
The health sector’s human resource crisis has been compounded by growing agitation from unions threatening industrial action.
While acknowledging the legitimacy of workers’ grievances, the governors urged unions to show restraint and avoid strikes that would paralyze service delivery.
They called on the national government to provide resources to implement pending Return-to-Work agreements.
The meeting also raised concerns over career progression guidelines recently approved by the Public Service Commission (PSC) for health cadres without consulting county governments.
Governors warned the guidelines carry “huge financial implications” and demanded that no such approvals be made without factoring the costs into counties’ equitable share of revenue.
Separately, the CoG protested what it termed discriminatory treatment of county workers after the national government implemented a salary review for its employees in the 2024/25 financial year without extending the same to counties.
The governors said Sh4.7 billion is needed to harmonise pay for county state and public officers and demanded an increase in the equitable share of revenue to cover the cost.
The governors also clashed with the National Treasury over the mandatory roll-out of the electronic government procurement (e-GP) system, saying it was hurriedly enforced without consultation.
They warned the system has disrupted procurement processes, particularly in the health sector, because of inadequate training and unresolved gaps identified during the pilot phase in only three counties.
“The e-GP rollout undermines the constitutional status of county governments. We demand that the National Treasury withdraws its directive until proper consultations, legal alignment, and capacity-building are done,” Abdullahi said.
The Council reaffirmed its commitment to upholding constitutional values, stressing that consultation and cooperation between the two levels of government must precede any directives affecting service delivery.
