Governor Tolgos defends CoG for skipping health equipment signing

ITEN: Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos has defended the Council of Governors (CoG) for snubbing the signing ceremony of the Sh38 billion medical equipment contract presided over by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Mr Tolgos instead blamed poor communication between the Ministry of Health and the CoG for the boycott, saying the ministry did not give them a clear message on the matter.

“To our understanding the national government was to procure the equipment but the governors were the ones to pay for the equipment,” said Tolgos adding the cost implications scared them off.

He said communication breakdown made him and his colleagues skip the ceremony, which would pave way for the equipping of at least two health facilities in each of the 47 counties across the country with the state of the art medical equipment.

The equipment includes cancer diagnostic and treatment with dialysis machines among other medical supplies.

LESSEN BURDEN

“For us in Elgeyo Marakwet County, we need these equipment and if I had known earlier, I would have spent the night near State House eagerly waiting for the ceremony,” said Tolgos in Iten after attending the opening of the third session of the county assembly.

The governor said Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital Eldoret, which offers diagnosis and treatment for terminal diseases is congested with patients seeking treatment and the equipment would lessen the burden.

Tolgos said this as Nandi Senator Stephen Sang and his Elgeyo Marakwet counterpart Kipchumba Murkomen castigated the governors for snubbing the ceremony.

“Health is a devolved function but when the Government is stepping in to ensure they take equipment to the health facilities for a healthy nation, our governors boycott the ceremony because of queries about who procured them,” said Mr Sang.

Mr Murkomen asked governors to seek audience with Government and iron out emerging issues because the equipment is urgently needed.