Uhuru starts hospital tools leasing amid court action

Politics and policy

President Uhuru Kenyatta commissions the National Primary School’s Electrification Project during the official launch of the Last Mile Connectivity Project at Katulu S.A. Primary School in Tala on May 27. 2015. PHOTO | PSCU 

By SARAH OOKO

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday launched the Sh38 billion medical equipment leasing plan at Machakos Hospital amid governors’ opposition to the scheme.

Machakos Level Five Hospital received new theatre facilities, kidney dialysis kits, intensive care unit equipment and X-ray machines from the deal.

The leasing deal will see two hospitals in each county receive the medical equipment worth Sh38 billion, which Mr Kenyatta said are financed by the national government over a seven-year period.

This came as the Council of Governors (CoG) joined International Legal Consultancy Group (a lobby) in a suit seeking to stop the leasing deal, arguing that county governments were not consulted.

Outgoing CoG chairman Isaac Ruto said in court papers that procuring health equipment is a preserve of counties and allowing the central government to continue with the deal will rob off the devolved units of their mandate.

Devolved mandate

“Counties will lose a key part of their fully devolved mandate over the health sector if this court does not stop implementation of the MoU. The ministry has not disclosed to the county governments the contracts executed with medical equipment providers,” Mr Ruto and Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya said.

Justice Mumbi Ngugi on Wednesday ordered the government to respond to the suit and appear before her on July 1 for a hearing.

The five international companies that won the leasing tender are General Electric (GE) from the USA, Philips from the Netherlands, Bellco SRL from Italy, Esteem from India and Mindray Biomedical of China.

They will earn leasing fees of more than Sh5 billion annually over the seven years. But lack of local talent to operate the machines has rocked the leasing scheme.

The leasing will save the government huge upfront costs in purchase and maintenance fees, but governors fear the deal could see a cut in their health budgets.

Kenya has a rickety public health infrastructure plagued by a shortage of doctors and lack of medicines and medical equipment.

This has forced the rich and the working class to rely on costly private hospitals with some seeking treatment outside the country.