President William Ruto has vowed to clamp down on corruption within the Social Health Authority (SHA), accusing some hospitals of resisting audits intended to expose fraudulent claims worth billions of shillings.
Speaking in Siaya County on Sunday, the President said the government has put in place new digital systems capable of detecting irregular payments and inflated claims that have long plagued the public health insurer.
“The reason we are unearthing the theft and corruption in hospitals is because our digital systems are now able to detect the fraud that has been carried out for many years under NHIF,” Ruto said.He disclosed that hospitals owed NHIF about KSh30 billion, but some had gone to court to block verification of these debts, a move he said was aimed at concealing fraud.
“When we say, let’s do verification of that debt of KSh30 billion, the hospitals go to court and say they don’t want verification — because they know there is corruption. We are not going to pay until we verify, because we will not spend public money to pay corrupt people,” he declared.The President warned that government, faith-based, and private hospitals implicated in fraudulent claims would not be spared, insisting that taxpayers’ money must be protected.
Ruto’s remarks come at a time when the health sector is under scrutiny over the rollout of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), which is expected to replace NHIF. The government has promised tighter oversight to seal loopholes and restore public trust in the scheme.
“This administration will not tolerate theft in the health sector. Those who have stolen from Kenyans will have to account,” Ruto said.