NHIF Scraps Ksh6.9B Tenders Following Media Investigation
The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) canceled six tenders on Tuesday, June 20. After media outlets exposed flaws in a Ksh6.9 billion insurance tender for civil servants.
In a notice published in local newspapers. NHIF stated that the tenders would be revised and reissued in due time. As Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha continues to exert her authority over her staff.
Insurance for civil servants and National Youth Service (NYS) staff. Insurance brokerage services, actuarial science services, and the provision of road evacuation services for NHIF members. Were among the canceled tenders.
The cancellation was a result of media outlets questioning the national insurer’s decision to spend more on civil servants’ coverage. Rather than renewing existing services at a lower price.
NHIF was also accused of advertising the bids against the advice of the Ministry of Public Service. Which had warned that the new covers would increase the government’s expenditures.
ALSO READ: Health CS Suspends 8 NHIF Hospital Managers for Exploiting Kenyans’ Funds
Principal Secretary Amos Gathecha was advised by the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) in a letter dated April 26 to extend the coverage for an additional year to prevent the government from incurring higher premiums.
Samson Kuhora, the acting chief executive officer of NHIF, confirmed after the exposé that he had initiated internal investigations into the matter, with accused employees facing disciplinary action.
“First, NHIF has conducted an independent review of the changes made to the tender document, the system, person, and process weaknesses that led to the error, and their impact on the procurement procedure.
“It has been determined that clause 4 on technical evaluation was modified to read ‘General Insurance’. Although this is the correct position, the modification procedure was not followed. This has informed the disciplinary actions taken against the staff,” read a portion of the statement.
The national insurer also indicated that it had instituted departmental reforms to prevent a recurrence of errors.
“These measures include implementing stricter document management protocols, establishing clear approval processes, bolstering oversight mechanisms throughout the procurement cycle, and implementing the e-Procurement portal as part of its digitization framework,” stated the CEO.
After an exposé by NTV exposed questionable payments made to four hospitals in the country, NHIF came under public scrutiny.
This month, we will conduct a thorough lifestyle audit on all NHIF employees. Susan Nakhumicha, secretary of state for health, stated that this is to ensure that every staff member can justify a disparity between their wealth portfolio and their salary.
NHIF Scraps Ksh6.9B Tenders Following Media Investigation
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