Ministry on spot over stalled Sh22b National Hospital Insurance Fund resource centre

Updated Sunday, July 28th 2013 at 23:42 GMT +3

Artistic impressions of the stalled NHIF resource centre set to be established in Nairobi’s Karen area.

By Geoffrey Mosoku

Nairobi, Kenya: The Ministry of Health is facing tough questions over a Sh22 billion project by theNational Hospital Insurance Fund that has stalled for more than ten years.

The proposed multi-billion shilling construction of a specialised medical centre in Nairobi’s Karen area has failed to kick off even after China offered to finance the entire project.

And should the project collapse, the government could lose Sh1.5 billion in consultants’ fees for the services offered so far.  

This is the only flagship project under Vision 2030 in the health sector, which was derailed due to squabbles between Treasury and the Health ministry.    

The ministry, whose top officials appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Health last week, is yet to explain who is derailing the project that was conceived in 2001, and why.

Sunday, PS Fred Segor said due to a change of administration at the ministry, Cabinet Secretary James Macharia and himself were holding discussions to decide the fate of the project.

Court battles

Macharia will face MPs over why the project can’t take off even after it was approved by the Cabinet and assured of funding from China.

“We are relatively new in the office but we are now studying the documents and the ministry will brief the public about the project soon,” said Segor.

Documents in our possession indicate the idea to develop a 23-acre plot in Karen by NHIF, as aresource centre was conceived in 2001, and approved by the parastatal’s board in 2002.

At that time, local consultants were appointed to design and supervise the project but a disagreement between NHIF and the consultants led to court battles that lasted two years.

The consultants include Ujenzi Consultants, Baseline Architects Ltd and Coastwise Associates.

In 2007, the matter was resolved after the Health ministry and the Attorney General asked NHIF to withdraw the case, and the arbitrator ruled in favour of the consultants.

NHIF paid the consultants Sh352 million as per a court decree entered after negotiations in which the consultants waived substantial interest on the arbitral awards on the understanding that the project would continue and the fees paid would be treated as interim fee for continuing the project.

On May 3, 2008, the ministry obtained Cabinet approval for the establishment of a high-level National and Regional Resource Centre that encompasses a specialised medical centre and training facility by NHIF.

In 2010, the government opened bilateral talks with China for funding, which was identified the following year as a Vision 2030 flagship project in the health sector.

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and a China Development Bank delegation led by Governor Jiang Chaoling met on May 17, 2010, and resolved the funding be undertaken through the Development Bank of Kenya.

“This project has been listed as a strategic health sector project to be financed through the line of credit being sought from DBC in partnership with DBK. The purpose of writing is to inform you to liaise with the CEO of DBK for the prerequisite documentation and project appraisal to facilitate its implementation,” the then acting Permanent Secretary, Andrew Mondoh, wrote to the then NHIF boss Richard Kerich on June 9, 2010.

The NHIF centre is expected to serve the eastern and central Africa region and help ease congestion at the Kenyatta National and Moi Teaching and Referral hospitals; the leading referral facilities in the region.

Other services

According to the design of the facility seen by The Standard, the centre is to boast a management staff training college for hospital administrators in medical supplies (medicine and equipment), maintenance, human resource management and procurement, as well as train clinical medical staff in continuous skill development in new technologies.

It will provide a specialised referral hospital fully equipped to deal with diagnostic and therapeutic services in medical imaging, specialised laboratories, radio and chemotherapy, pathology and analytical diagnostic labs, including DNA mapping.

Other features include an accredited Level 1 trauma centre, specialised treatment in renal services such as kidney transplants and dialysis. It is also to offer specialised cancer diagnosis, treatment and follow up, bone marrow transplants, cardiac and open heart services.

It would have other facilities such as an administration block, doctors’ plaza, students’ hostel, wards, staff and guest housing, kitchen, dining hall and stores.