Use revenue from hospitals to uplift facilities, says Oparanya

Governor Wycliffe Oparanya (centre) at a meeting with his cabinet members yesterday. [Nathan Ochunge, Standard]

Governor Wycliffe Oparanya has directed that all revenue generated by health facilities in the county be ploughed back to improve service delivery in the hospitals.

Speaking at a meeting with county executive members and chief officers yesterday, the governor said county hospitals generate at least Sh800 million annually.

“The money generated by the county government is deposited in one central bank account and when budgeting, some sectors get the lion’s share and this has affected service delivery in the health sector,” said Oparanya.

He said the county will now have a special account where all revenue collected by health facilities will be deposited and when a need arises, it will be easy to spend after being approved by relevant officers.

“We will no longer experience incidents where patients complain of lack of drugs in the public health facilities and doctors go on strike over delayed payments. Health is a critical component and I want efficiency in service delivery,” said Oparanya.

The governor said the money will also help in equipping all the public hospitals, buying drugs and upgrading sub-county health centres.

He said for the county to provide universal healthcare, they need enough money for strengthening the capacity of sub-county hospitals by posting specialists who will be supported by referrals of consultant doctors.

Oparanya said the move will help reduce costs of patients seeking services at Kakamega County Teaching and Referral Hospital.

The Council of Governors chairman also directed county executives to enhance revenue collection of Cess tax from contractors working on both county and national government roads.

"We must have a system where we are able to invoice contractors per vehicle on weekly or monthly basis. We have lost a lot of money through issuance of one-off permits and the amount of money they pay must be reviewed upwards with the current economic status of the country,” he said.

He told the executives that for the county to attain city status by 2020, it must meet its revenue targets of Sh3 billion annually which will be used to finance the county’s revenue deficit.

Oparanya praised the officials for doing a commendable job since revenue collection has increased after giving them supervisory roles three weeks ago. He made the order following the suspension of 143 revenue collection clerks; they are serving a 60-day compulsory leave

“Latest statistics shows that there is more than 200 per cent increase in revenue collection for the past three weeks,” said Oparanya.