By Ben Agina
A fresh storm is casting a long shadow on the credibility of National Hospital Insurance Fund caretaker committee, even as Cabinet plans to extend its term to December.
Having taken over from the suspended management team led by Richard Kerich and board chairman Richard Muga, which was also kicked out over the multi-million shilling controversial civil servants medical scheme, it was expected the new team would operate above board.
But the emerging facts from the troubled NHIF, whose head Medical Services Minister Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o wanted reinstated
Team is the fact that the acting Chief Executive Adan A Adan, recommended the employment of his wife after landing at NHIF, and signed an approval form to that effect.
Adan, who has been in the office for hardly three months, recommended the hiring of his wife, Habib Ali Maalim, together with other people believed to be his relatives. He signed the formal forms for approval, even suggesting her grade and placement in the Fund.
Adan heads the caretaker committee, which is in contempt of a High Court order, and which was expected to hold its last board meeting on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, when confronted with the facts on the documents in hands of The Standard, Adan confirmed Habib was his wife, but argued her name was struck off the list of those to be recruited because of her link to him.
It is, however, curious that though he was the signatory of the approval letter, and predictably even took part in the earlier process of recruitment and even suggested she be taken on job grade HF6, he did not seem to have declared beforehand their relationship.
Struck off list
“Yes, Habib is my wife. She is a qualified senior nurse. We cancelled her name when we discovered her name was in the list,” said Adan. But he did not explain how her name got on the final list bearing his signature, and at the number one position.
Assuming Habib did not get her appointment letter as her husband claims, she was to be recruited as Quality Assurance Officer 1, Job Group (HF6), and to be based at NHIF offices in Ruaraka.
