Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu has expressed his dissatisfaction with the implementation of the Social Health Authority (SHA), noting that the designers of the programme may have died, leaving it in the hands of clueless individuals to implement.
Speaking during a live TV breakfast show on Thursday, March 6, 2025, Mulu wondered why the gaps in the defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) could not be sealed.
“The people who designed the SHA must have died. Because the people who designed and the ones implementing are totally different teams,” Mulu remarked.
“That is why you see things are not falling in place.”
Flawed procurement
The legislator took issue with the procurement process of the system at Ksh104 billion, noting that an earlier bid at Ksh32 billion had been rejected to line up pockets of individuals.
“Safaricom had initially quoted Ksh32 billion. When the issue of the consortium and Adani Group came, it moved from Ksh32 billion to Ksh104 billion and the question is what changed the cost,” he quipped.
The SHA system which is neither owned nor capable of being tweaked by the state has been at the centre of controversy after the Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu exposed flaws in its procurement process, noting that Kenyans may have not gotten value for money.
Mulu observed that even with the corruption instances which marred NHIF, it served Kenyans for years without experiencing the kind of challenges with SHA.
“Did we identify the gaps in NHIF so that we could improve them to the level we want instead of disbanding it,” Mulu questioned.
Ruto defends SHA
“I hear the president talking about corruption in NHIF. Is there no corruption in SHA? The Auditor-General has confirmed there is corruption. If there is corruption in NHIF and SHA, what is the difference.”
Mulu’s remarks come just a day after President William Ruto defended the programme while attending the burial ceremony of Malava MP Malulu Injendi in Kakamega County on March 5, 2025.
Ruto observed that cartels and people who had benefitted from the wastage and corruption at the NHIF were behind the calls to revert to the old system.
He reiterated that no amount of persuasion would make him go back to NHIF as the old system had been run down by corrupt players.
“They do not want a technology system that works because they want to continue stealing from us. The stealing is over. Move on. We are not going to give free money as was being done under NHIF to hospitals without accountability. We are only going to pay for services rendered,” Ruto remarked.
