Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale now says counties are to blame for delayed September salaries for the Universal Health Coverage staff.
Duale on Monday said the delay had been occasioned by the fact that the devolved units had refused to integrate payroll systems to fast-track the payment process.
Speaking during the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC) meeting held at Deputy President Kithure Kindiki’s Karen home, Duale said as a matter of fact, the ministry has no money to pay the staff unless counties take them onto their payrolls or the funds are transferred to the ministry.
The CS said the resistance by about 12 counties had frustrated efforts to establish a sustainable payroll mechanism for the 7,786 UHC workers.
“In September, there shall be no money to pay the people unless money is transferred to us, or counties open payrolls,” said Duale.
The standoff centres on Sh8.6 billion allocated to facilitate the transition of UHC workers, including statutory employer contributions.
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The CS said initially, the Ministry of Health had asked the National Treasury to reclassify the money from the Conditional Integrated Grant Allocation (CIGA), under additional county allocations, to the Disbursement of Revenue Allocation (DORA) so that it could facilitate payment of the workers.
However, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi warned that the reclassification could delay disbursement of funds needed to pay the workers.
Instead, the National Treasury proposed that the money remain under CIGA for the 2026/27 financial year and be moved to DORA in the next financial year.
Duale said the government was now racing against time to resolve the matter before the September payroll, to avoid a health crisis.
The UHC workers were recruited by the Ministry of Health in 2020 in collaboration with the Public Service Commission
Under the contract, certificate holders were receiving monthly stipends of Sh40,000, and Sh50,000 for diploma holders.
Their remuneration was later aligned with Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) scales.
In September 2025, President William Ruto directed that the employees be transitioned to permanent and pensionable terms.
The transition was expected to take effect on July 1, 2026, with counties expected to absorb the workers.
A multi-agency committee was established in June to oversee the process, followed by an attempt by the Ministry of Health to transfer the workers from the national payroll to county payrolls.
But the transfer failed after the migrated payroll was not received for integration into county systems.
Duale said the Council of Governors (CoG) subsequently resisted integrating the workers into county payrolls, arguing that the allocated funds should instead be channelled through DORA.
To prevent a disruption of salaries and possible strike action, the Ministry of Health reversed the payroll transfer and retained the workers on its payroll, processing their salaries for July and August.
Duale, however, warned that the arrangement cannot continue without additional funding.
“We shall not be in a position to pay September because we do not have the resources,” he said.
According to the CS, the government must agree on both the disbursement of the Sh8.6 billion and the integration of the workers into county payrolls to avert another health sector crisis.
The Deputy President Kindiki, in his remarks, asked CoG and SRC to resolve the industrial action that has paralysed healthcare across the country.
“I am aware that the Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives Union is on strike. This industrial action has affected the smooth delivery of health services across the country,” said Kindiki, adding, “I wish to encourage the Council of Governors, in consultation with SRC, to conclude on the outstanding issues as soon as possible to facilitate resumption of services.”