Embattled Migori Governor Okoth Obado has landed in yet another den after operations in his county stalls due to lack of transportation. The county’s departmental cars have been grounded after Obado’s administration failed to pay third party insurers.
According to a spot check by the Nation, the only operating Migori county vehicles are hospital ambulances. Governor Okoth Obado’s office chase cars are also grounded.
The rest of the vehicles lie dormant at the parking yards of various units. County drivers who are avoiding the inevitable financial crisis are now working for private individuals. According to Migori county drivers who spoke to media on anonymity, they have been reporting to work for the last three months but have not worked because the vehicles are yet to be insured.
“We report to work as usual, bask in the sun for the better part of the day then leave to our homes without doing anything. We now offer services to private entities as long as they can pay. We cannot stay idle for three months yet we have financial obligations to meet,” one of the drivers told the source.
West Kanyamkago MCA, Peter Mijungu, who is the Transport Committee Chairman refused to comment on the issues that has crippled the county.
However, Erick Mwango, the Migori County Fleet Manager bolstered that the vehicles have only been grounded for two weeks. According to Mwango, the delay has been caused by the sluggish pace of the procurement department.
“We grounded the vehicles and forwarded all the requirements to the procurement department. We are still waiting for their feedback since the buck stops at their desk. The new insurance can only be gotten after tenders are advertised and that is yet to be effected. Our hands are tied since we cannot release the vehicles to the departments in their current state,” Mwango said.
On Friday, 25th of October, Kenya National Union of Nurses General Secretary Seth Panyako signed a deal with AAR insurance company to cover for professional malpractices suits against nurses.
In the deal that will take effect from January, 2020, more than 29,000 nurses are said to be rolled in the professional indemnity cover negotiated by their union and employer.
“Every nurse will be required to pay Sh9,600 every year. We will make these arrangements with their employers including the 47 counties to see when the money will be deducted,” said Mr Panyako.
Recently, a Health Amendment Bill, was signed into law implying that all health workers get enrolled in a cover that insulates them from professional and malpractice-related lawsuits.
“This means we do not have to again start negotiating with employers on this as it is now mandatory,” said Panyako.
Kenya has in recent days mired with professional misconducts recent case that saw a nurse get fired at KNH after she marked the wrong patient to undergo head surgery. A wrong man got his skull opened up by a neurosurgeon. Another case happened at the facility that saw three nurses sued following the murder of a cancer patient that was under their watch.
A woman from Kwale County also sued nurses who misdiagnised her HIV tests.
“For long, the union has been meeting the costs that come with such litigation. With this deal, such cases will be left to lawyers,” said Panyako, adding that the cover would extend to interns.
Nixon Shigoli AAR CEO said the indemnity deal will cover lawyers’ fees, loss of documents and expenses of insured nurses. National Nurses Association of Kenya also will require the cover to renew their licences.
The National Treasury has been financing a lot of ghost projects with Billions of taxpayers money falling into the hands of corrupt civil servants and once again, the National financier has been alleged to orchestrate another massive scandal after the Arror and Kimwarer dam scam that saw the former Finance CS, Henry Rotich sacked.
According to information before the Public Accounts Committee, the National Treasury has allocated over Sh150 billion as insurance cover for all government and public servants.
In the records, The National Treasury has been allocating Sh15 billion annually to the self-insurance fund under Group Personal Accident (GPA) policy and Work Injury Benefits Act (WIBA) for all public servants for the past 10 years. The scheme that the Treasury has been financing has not received any claims nor issued a penny in compensation to those entitled to benefits from the said cover.
One wonders, Does the National treasury ever bother or even follow up on how has the fund been utilised and who are the beneficiaries in most of the schemes and projects it funds?
According to the National Treasury’s operating policy framework of 2009, the formula of allocating funds is 2.25 per cent of the annual wage roll of all public servants and our searches indicate that the average annual wage earnings of public servants is Sh694.981 billion.
The said insurance cover was rolled out through the May 2006 Human Resources Policies and Procedures manual for public service policy designed to cover permanent bodily injury or death arising from an accident.
According to the insurance manual, Public servants include those in civil service, National Police Service, Judiciary, Kenya Defence Forces, county governments, public universities, parliamentary service, State corporations and all statutory bodies. The manual defined the nature of claims as those related to accidents while riding on motorcycles, including pillion passengers, accident out of exposure to banditry and similar risks in the course of duty, government drivers deployed to drive privately registered donor partner vehicles.
In the manual, if it is as it says, then all public servants who have died or have been injured in the line of duty since 2009 have rather, are supposed to have valid claims.
“Any claim is required to be reported by the insured, dependants or nominee in writing and submitted within a year of the injury or death,” the manual reads.
This is a massive scandal and people need to go home and some be held up behind bars because as the records show, to date no rather many public servants have never been compensated through the GPA and WIBA, and there are no records of those who have claimed.
Public Accounts Committee Chair Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi, stated that his committee will probe into the allegations and unravel those behind the scandal and masterminds of the entire scheme.
“Definitely, this is an issue that catches the attention of any watchdog entity, be it EACC or DCI. We shall be liaising with the Office of Auditor General to have a special audit done,” Mr Wandayi said.
Treasury Chief Administrative Secretary Nelson Gaichuhie admitted the existence of the GPA and WIBA annual budgetary allocations, in his response, Gaichuhie stated that the government was planning to use the kitty to enhance the NHIF cover once the systems are in place.
“This is going to be the first time the money will be going to NHIF so that victims can file claims and get compensated,” he told local media.
Mr. Gaichuhie denied responding to why the allocation has not been benefiting victims and why public servants have not been sensitised about it.
Sammy Muthui, chief operating officer at AoN Kenya Insurance Brokers
Aon Insurance Brokers struck a deal with Teachers Service Commission last year for medical cover on its staff valued at Sh 5.6 billion AON Minet, and the scandalous deal was surrounded with bribery claims which led to a court suit to have it terminated. It emerged that the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) were duped after some of its members were lured by a 10 per cent kickback from the deal.
Details emerged that some Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and Knut were involved in hammering out the multi-billion deal were more concerned with the kickback that translated to approximately Sh500 million, that would accrue after the deal was finalised. The deal was tailored by Sossion and party.
It doesn’t make sense why TSC the employer had to bring on board KNUT in negotiating the deal, perhaps a ploy to oil shoulders of vital bodies to avoid repulsion. While the tender was advertised, the parties involved had already identified AoN Brokers who offered a good incentive.
The matter was brought to the attention of Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission after anti-graft Director of Investigation Abdi Mohamud demanded copies of various documents from TSC to launch investigations into allegations of procurement irregularities in the award for tender to AON.
Among the records needed was the list of bidders, approved budget, minutes of the tender committee, payment vouchers and tender advertisements. In 2014, TSC boss Gabriel Lengoibon, with the outspoken fire-chewing Knut secretary general Wilson Sossion, allegedly secretly sourced for AoN Minet for the cover. In a bid to conceal, it is claimed, they invited officials of Knut to discuss the matter with Kuppet being kept in the dark of the goings on. It is compelling to note, Sossion was on National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) board that issued contracts to dubious clinics that caused a stir in public time back.
KNUT Secretary General Wilson Sossion
A new storm is brewing as AoN is hell bent to retain the medical cover deal with the commission since their current tie, expires, sleuths talking to Kenya Insights say, the Brokering Company has resorted to using every means in store to ensure that it clinches the Sh15 billion teachers medical cover scheme for a period of three years.
A manager at Pioneer Insurance Company( tendering for the contract with teachers) as we learn from source visited the Teachers Service Commission Evaluation Committee in Nakuru where they were having consultative meetings and parted with Sh1 million for each of the six members as the bribe.
The evaluation committee had been stationed in Nakuru county between July 28-31 only for the said AoN’s agent to arrive and part with Sh6 million in what could be described as trying to play dirty with Kenya’s largest workforce of 250,000 teachers. This was after AoN Insurance realised that Clarkson Insurance had quoted Sh14 billion for three years as opposed to AoN’s Sh15.3 billion. Liaison Insurance put a figure of Sh17.7 billion.
The quotation by Clarkson has caused sleepless nights to AoN forcing it to use crooked means to retain the lucrative medical scheme for teachers which it had earlier signed for a one year in the period 2015/16. The committee is currently divided and at loggerheads on whether to declare Clarkson the winner or AoN Insurance. AoN’s had during the initial contract with TSC signed a Sh5.6 billion contract.
A good umber of teachers who’ve contacted Kenya Insights on this issue says the AoN cover was the force down their throats and have lodged serious complaints. They complain of delays in the processing of payments to health facilities, leading to loss of valuable teaching time, thus adversely affecting innocent students in their respective schools whenever teachers go for outpatient services in AON Minet-accredited health facilities.
Kenya Insights has its eyes all over this deal and will be keen to see the directions it takes and how things play out. With 10% tradition in tendering at the back of mind, we will tell you the developments as we have our spies planted in all the corridors on this deal.
