Ministry, governors clash over ghost workers in health payroll

A dispute has erupted between the Ministry of Health and county governments over nearly Sh1 billion allegedly lost to ghost workers under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programme.

This is even as pressure mounts to fix a payroll riddled with inconsistencies since the initiative began in 2020.

Internal records show the Health Ministry may have paid about 3,000 UHC workers a standard monthly salary of Sh50,000 each over five years, despite concerns that some of those listed may not exist or ever report to work.

“We are not just talking about payroll confusion—this is a possible heist of public funds. There are people listed as UHC staff who never report to work. Some may not even exist,” said Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.

The Council of Governors (CoG) and Duale are now backing a plan to transfer payroll management to counties to verify the actual number of legitimate healthcare workers and identify possible fraud.

Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki, who chairs the CoG Health Committee, said the move would help plug the gaps in record-keeping and accountability.

“The UHC staff list keeps mutating. The figures at the Ministry differ from those at the county level. We support the audit to know who is actually working,” said Njuki.

Despite the audit plans, UHC staff across the country have recently staged protests demanding permanent and pensionable terms.

They claim the Ministry of Health has short-changed them by offering lower pay than what is given to staff in formal health positions.

The proposed joint headcount would require all UHC workers to report physically to county offices and sign against their names to confirm their employment status.

However, CoG Chair Ahmed Abdulahi cautioned against rushing the payroll handover to counties without first cleaning up the system at the national level.

“We must proceed with caution. This transition must come after the national government has fully cleaned up the UHC structure and made proper budgetary provisions,” said Abdulahi during Madaraka Day celebrations in Wajir.

The Universal Health Coverage programme was launched in 2020 under President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda, initially in six counties.

Thousands of workers were recruited on temporary contracts, but unclear hiring practices and poor tracking have led to long-standing payroll irregularities.