PAC chairman Boni Khalwale (right) and Medical Services assistant minister Kazungu Kambi during a press conference at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi on May 7, 2012. Dr Khalwale said his committee would table a motion of no confidence in Cabinet minister Anyang Nyong’o over the scandal at NHIF. Photo/Diana Ngila
Medical Services minister Anyang Nyong’o was made to eat the humble pie on Monday after Prime Minister Raila Odinga suspended the National Hospital Insurance Fund board which the minister has twice reinstated in less than a week.
A key ally of Mr Odinga, Prof Nyong’o had on Thursday and Saturday annulled the suspension of Richard Kerich as the chief executive at NHIF, after he was sent packing by the board chairman and the head of the civil service respectively.
Mr Odinga suspended the board of management for three months pending investigations into irregular recruitment of healthcare providers and fraudulent payments to non-existent health institutions.
The PM also appointed a caretaker committee to take charge at the public insurer for the three months, reinforcing an earlier directive from civil service head Francis Kimemia.
“After wide consultations, I have decided to suspend the board and chief executive officer at NHIF for a period of three months pending investigations,” said Mr Odinga. “I have appointed Ahmed Adam as an interim manager for the period.”
The PM’s intervention puts to rest a high level drama that has played out at the public health insurer since last Thursday when Dr Richard Muga was dropped as the chair of the board after suspending Mr Kerich as CEO and four other senior managers over malpractices in the recruitment of healthcare providers into an expanded health insurance scheme covering teachers and civil servants.
The suspension was only short-lived as it was to be annulled within minutes by Prof Nyong’o who instead sent Dr Muga packing, citing insubordination.
Prof Nyong’o was at it again on Sunday when he overruled Mr Kimemia for suspending the board, including Mr Kerich.
Mr Kimemia had proposed that a caretaker committee takes over from the suspended board, a proposal that has now been adopted by the PM.
The caretaker committee will consist of representatives from the private sector, the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU), the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT).
Mr Odinga said a private firm would be hired to carry out a forensic audit into the suspicious transactions relating to privately-owned healthcare facilities that are estimated to have cost the public insurer at least Sh120 million in the first quarter of the year alone.
Officials from the Efficiency Monitoring Unit from the PM’s office will also be involved in the investigations.
The terms of reference for the investigators and the scope of work were not immediately available.
Prior to the latest suspension, Mr Kerich had reported to work yesterday in defiance of a directive suspending him and the entire board issued by Mr Kimemia.
Mr Kerich was holed up in meetings with senior officials at the Ministry of Health with members of board of management, citing that only the Minister of Medical Services had the power to sack him.
“The law is very clear so I am still in office,” said Mr Kerich in a telephone interview on Monday.
A parliamentary committee had earlier in the month unearthed a series of irregular payments made by NHIF to non-existent healthcare providers in an expanded medical insurance scheme covering civil servants and teachers which was launched in January.
It was discovered that NHIF had made payments worth about Sh300 million to two healthcare providers, Meridian Health and Clinix, for clinics that either did not meet the minimum standards or were non-existent.
This was despite a public outcry over the skewed allocation of the funds where privately owned hospitals got most of the money while established outlets like the Kenyatta National Hospital and the Coast Provincial General Hospital received less than Sh2.5 million between them.
Dr Muga disclosed that the boardroom tensions began early in the year when the civil servants medical insurance scheme was conceived and Mr Kerich sidelined the board and started taking instructions from the medical services ministry.
“The CEO (Kerich) started ignoring the board immediately the scheme was initiated; he has been dealing directly with the PS (Ms Mary Ngare) and the Minister (Prof Nyong’o),” said Prof Muga on Monday.
Special audit
While all that was happening, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Monday threatened to initiate a motion of no confidence against Prof Nyong’o over irregularities at NHIF.
The committee has also launched a special audit to stop further loss of public funds and ensure action against those found culpable in the scandal.
PAC chairman Boni Khalwale and Mr Kazungu challenged President Kibaki and Mr Odinga to intervene to ensure public funds “are not lost through election-related fundraising.”
“As the committee charged with over sighting and auditing use of public funds, and with consultations among MPs, we will be bringing a motion of no confidence in Minister Nyong’o to ensure that he steps aside to pave way for forensic audit of NHIF,” Dr Khalwale said.
He asked Prof Nyong’o to step aside as evidence of corruption is clear in his ministry.
Dr Khalwale said the committee will not sit back and wait until more money is lost.
“We have information about Sh700 million that was due for release this week to ghost clinics. We want the President to stop any further disbursement until the mess is sorted out,” Mr Kazungu said and threatened to resign if the matter is not resolved.
On Labour Day, Cotu issued a national strike notice if the proposed new scheme is implemented.
Earlier, Parliament’s health committee chaired by Robert Monda had found out that two of the over 300 private service providers engaged by NHIF to offer the expanded medical scheme for public servants were paid monies for clinics that did not exist.
The committee last week questioned Meridian Health Group and Clinix Healthcare where Sh116 million and Sh202 million was paid to respectively to offer services in some outlets that do not exist.
It was revealed that the two service providers used the monies wired to them to open new outlets and hire medical staff most of whom are not registered by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Board.
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