By Abdihakim Siyad
Tarbaj- Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, who also chairs the Council of Governors (CoG), has issued a stern warning to the national government over what he termed an attempt to offload the financial burden of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers onto county governments without providing adequate funding.
Speaking during Madaraka Day celebrations in Tarbaj, Governor Abdullahi did not mince words, accusing the national government of reneging on prior agreements as the contracts of UHC workers come to an end.
“As the Council of Governors, we have absolutely no issue with UHC workers being absorbed into permanent and pensionable terms,” he said. “But we are saying funds have to be available. Now that they are reaching the end of their contractual period, the national government is trying to wriggle out of the arrangement by transferring the payroll to us without the commensurate resources needed.”
The governor further stressed the need for a substantial increase in the equitable share allocated to counties, especially in light of the shift toward permanent employment of UHC staff.
“The equitable share that goes to county governments has to increase substantially and must include a line that is costed to sustain UHC on a permanent basis. If that doesn’t happen, all we’re doing is transferring the demonstrations from Afya House to county governments,” he warned.
Governor Abdullahi called on the Ministry of Health to urgently address the funding dispute, warning that counties may be forced to halt UHC operations if the funding gaps are not resolved.
“Let us deal with the problem. Let us not shift the mess from Afya House to county governments,” he emphasized.
On the issue of the new Social Health Authority (SHA), the governor reiterated the CoG’s support for the reform, despite what he described as “initial resistance and propaganda.” However, he sounded the alarm over potential fraud risks within the scheme.
“We are partnering with the national government on SHA. I think SHA faced a lot of resistance and propaganda, but we supported it as the Council of Governors,” he said.
“The biggest threat to SHA is fraud. SHA is an insurance scheme—the claims cannot exceed the premiums. If we do not safeguard against fraud, the claims will definitely exceed the premiums, and it will go the same way as NHIF. So, we have to work together as national and county governments to ensure that we protect SHA from fraud.”
Governor Abdullahi’s hard-hitting speech has amplified growing concerns among county leaders that the rollout of UHC is being undermined by poor coordination and funding shortfalls.
With contracts for thousands of UHC health workers set to lapse, the coming days may see heightened tensions between the national and county governments.
