Govt Caught in Ksh104B Health Scandal- David Ndii Admits: “We Don’t Own It!”
Economist David Ndii has made it clear that the government neither owns nor controls the Social Health Authority (SHA) system, which is valued at Ksh104.8 billion.
On Tuesday, March 4, Ndii responded to public concerns regarding the cost and ownership of SHA. He explained that the Ksh104 billion linked to the system is not government spending. Instead, it represents fees paid by users over a period of ten years under a contract.
“The UHC digital platform is completely outsourced. The Government of Kenya has not spent a single shilling on it. The Ksh104 billion is the total user fees payable over a ten-year contract,” Ndii wrote on X.
To give perspective on the expenditure, Ndii compared it to what Kenya pays in M-Pesa transaction fees. He claimed that in 2024 alone, Kenyans paid Safaricom Ksh77 billion for M-Pesa services.
Ndii further justified the cost of the UHC platform by explaining that it will cost about Ksh10 billion annually, which translates to roughly Ksh50 per hospital visit. He suggested that this amount is reasonable given the scale and importance of the service.
A recent audit report from Auditor General Nancy Gathungu also confirmed that the government neither owns nor controls the SHA system.
According to the report, all system components and intellectual property rights belong to a consortium, except for infrastructure, which is expected to be transferred after procurement.
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“The system, its components, and all intellectual property rights remain owned by the consortium, except for infrastructure, which will be transferred after procurement,” part of the report read.
Gathungu further explained that the system’s funding model aims to generate Ksh111 billion in revenue over ten years. This money will come from SHA member contributions, claims from health facilities, and charges for the track and trace solution.
“The consortium proposed a financial model where revenue will be collected from SHA member contributions, health facility claims, and track and trace charges at rates of 2.5%, 5%, and 1.5% respectively over ten years, leading to projected earnings of Ksh111 billion,” the report stated.
Additionally, she mentioned that government contributions to the system are transferred to an escrow account regularly, either daily or weekly, based on contract terms.
“Clause 12.4 of the contract states that these funds must be moved into an escrow account every day or at least once a week,” the report added.
Govt Caught in Ksh104B Health Scandal- David Ndii Admits: “We Don’t Own It!”
