NAIROBI, Kenya– The Council of Governors (CoG) has warned that County Governments cannot absorb Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff without a prior allocation of Sh 7.7 billion from the Ministry of Health, citing financial and operational constraints.
The warning came during an Extraordinary Council Meeting convened to deliberate on human resource management in the health sector and the rollout of the Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system.
“The Ministry cannot alter the contracts of the UHC staff without the involvement of County Governments,” said COG chair Ahmed Abdullahi.
“The transfer of UHC staff must be preceded by the allocation of adequate resources, including gratuity payments totaling Ksh 9.4 billion for staff currently under contractual terms.”
The CoG highlighted that ongoing verification exercises of UHC staff must be jointly validated and officially reported before any transfer process begins.
Counties expressed readiness to employ verified staff once resources are provided and outstanding obligations are settled by the National Government.
Beyond the UHC staff absorption, governors raised concerns over labour relations in the health sector, pointing to growing union agitation over unresolved grievances.
They called on both the unions and the National Government to exercise patience and provide necessary financial support for implementing Return to Work Agreements.
The council also criticized the Public Service Commission for approving career progression guidelines for health cadres without factoring in the financial impact on County Governments. Governors warned that implementing these guidelines without increased allocations could strain county budgets.
Outstanding salary reviews for County workers were another point of concern.
The council stated that the National Treasury’s failure to allocate resources has left counties unable to implement salary reviews for FY 2024/25, totaling Sh 4.77 billion.
The council demanded an increase in the equitable share of revenue to cover these obligations.
Governors have also raised alarms over the mandatory national rollout of the e-GP system. Governors described the process as “hasty and disruptive,” particularly in critical sectors such as health, and called for the withdrawal of the directive until proper consultations and capacity-building are conducted.
