The United States Government suspended aid to the Ministry of Health, citing corruption at Afya House. Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu later acknowledged there were serious integrity issues at Afya House.
These issues not only came to light during the revelation that Sh5 billion could not be accounted for, a parliamentary probe into the cause of the three-month doctors strike that began in December 2016 also revealed the disconnect between the Cabinet Secretary and his Principal Secretary who has since been transferred to another ministry.
Sadly, as these problems refuse to go away, there is another doctors' strike in parts of the country.
The new strike has been occasioned by the Government's failure to pay doctors their salaries for six months, including the period they were on strike.
Chairman of the Council of Governors Peter Munya affirmed governors would only honour President Uhuru Kenyatta's directive to pay doctors their dues if the National Government released funds for the same expenditure. His argument was simple; that the budgetary allocations they were given did not factor in salaries for the time doctors were on strike.
Strictly for accountability purposes, governors cannot be faulted because several of them have had bad experiences with the Senate oversight team over expenditure.
That, however, does not solve the problem at hand. Last week, Treasury said it had released funds to counties to pay doctors, yet today a doctors' strike in parts of the country continues to bite.
Doctors in public hospitals in Nakuru County have been on strike for the sixth day today, demanding salary arrears for six months. A similar problem obtains in Kajiado. Since the health function was partially devolved, it has never been the same.
Doctors decry poor pay, sometimes delayed and untenable working conditions. But while solving grievances raised by doctors would be the way to go, there has been a level of buck passing between the two tiers of government that complicates matters. This impasse must be solved once and for all.
