NMS wants City Hall to hand over Sh253m health funds

Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) now wants the Controller of Budget and the Senate to compel Nairobi County to release Sh253 million meant for the provision of healthcare services.

Officials from NMS led by deputy director general William Kangethe and NMS director for health services Josephine Mbae told the Senate committee on Health that despite health being one of the transferred functions, the county is yet to change signatories for the bank accounts.

This, therefore, means NMS cannot access the money to run the level two and three health facilities in the city and also to do renovations and buy drugs for the facilities.

The Sh253 million is meant for the provision of services for health centres and dispensaries in Nairobi County.

Out of the amount, Sh127 million is still being held at the Central Bank where the county government still bears the signatories while Sh126 million is held at the County Revenue Fund.

“The Sh127 million held in Special Purpose Account (SPA) of the County in the Central Bank meant to benefit health centres is still held by the county and the signatories to the account have not been changed to officers of NMS mandated to execute the function of health,” Mr Kangethe told the committee in a virtual meeting yesterday.

“These funds are conditional grants from the Ministry of Health and attract penalties when not expended for the correct purpose and when not spent at the correct time,” Mr Kangethe added.

Dr Mbae told the committee that NMS has already written a letter to the Controller of Budget not to allow the county to spend the money because it is meant for health services now under NMS.

Despite holding the Sh253 million, Dr Mbae told the committee that the county government has dutifully transferred all the health facilities to NMS but with no resources to manage them.