NHIF scam report tabled in House despite opposition
Minister for Medical Services, Prof Anyang Nyongo with PS Mary Ngare when they appeared before the House Committee probing the NHIF saga on May 15, 2012. Photo/File
The saga surrounding the outpatient medical scheme for public servants took a new twist on Tuesday when an MP claimed that recommendations of the investigating team had been doctored.
The Parliamentary Committee on Health had recommended further investigations into the roles played by Medical Services minister Anyang’ Nyong’o, his Public Service ministry counterpart Dalmas Otieno, and top government officials over irregularities in the payment of public funds to non-existent clinics.
Nyando MP Fred Outa, who sat on the Health committee that probed the National Hospital Insurance Fund’s controversial payments, failed to block the tabling of the report by the chairman, Dr Robert Monda.
The committee investigated payments to Clinix Healthcare and Meridian Health Group which received Sh202m and Sh116 million respectively during the roll-out of the Sh4 billion scheme meant for 221,730 public servants.
Speaker Kenneth Marende overruled Mr Outa and allowed the report to be debated by the House after finding that proper procedures were followed in the compilation and tabling of the same.
Mr Outa rose immediately Dr Monda, who has raised fears for his live over the probe, prepared to table the report and claimed that the contents of the recommendations had been changed and minutes of the approval meeting were missing.
He demanded that copies of The Hansard reflecting minutes of the meetings that sanctioned the report be produced.
Dr Boni Khalwale, Mr Olago Aluoch, and Mr David Njuguna said the issue raised integrity issues on the part of committee members and the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly and asked the Speaker to issue directions on the matter.
However, Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara and Mutito’s Kiema Kilonzo said the report should be tabled for MPs to make a decision on the same.
Dr Monda defended the report against allegations of altering content, saying that seven out of 10 members had signed it.
“One of the members walked out before we adopted the report. We have no member who recorded dissent,” he said, agreeing with the Speaker’s observation that proper procedures as outlined in Standing Order 76 were followed.
The committee wants the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission to investigate Medical Services PS Mary Ngari, Director of Medical Services Francis Kimani, the Registrar General Bernice Gacheru, sacked NHIF chief executive officer Richard Kerich, and the NHIF board then chaired by Dr Richard Muga over the irregularities.
Clinix chief executive Toddy Madhana will be investigated for possible misrepresentation before the committee and prosecuted if found guilty.
The committee also recommended that the attorney-general conducts a forensic audit to ascertain the directorship of Pharma Investment Limited, owned by Nairobi businessman Jayesh Saini.
The company is incorporated in tax haven British Virgin Islands. Mr Saini will also be required to shed light on the directorship of TBL Mirror Fund (BV), a company with shareholding in Meridian Group.
The AG will also be required to ascertain if beneficiaries of the scheme have been getting value for their money and file a report to Parliament in three months.
The committee also investigated NHIF’s decision to pay accredited hospitals and clinics in full even before they had delivered services. More than Sh1.08 billion has already been dished out to 1,170 hospitals.
The writing of the report has not been without controversy after a standoff over its recommendations and claims by the chairman that his life was in danger.
Dr Monda made the claims on the floor of the House and later addressed journalists at Parliament Buildings on the same.
A section of the committee felt the recommendations had been watered down and did not reflect the findings of the probe.
During the probe, the House team pointed out that some service providers commenced ambitious expansion plans using the pre-payments instead of spending the funds on medical services for beneficiaries.
