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{
    "id": 1095122,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1095122/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 238,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mukurweini, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Anthony Kiai",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13439,
        "legal_name": "Anthony Githiaka Kiai",
        "slug": "anthony-githiaka-kiai"
    },
    "content": "time are unemployed? How do we make sure that at 18, you also benefit from the programme? At 18 and you are unemployed. How do you benefit from the programme? Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, when I look at this amendment, really nobody is talking about how we are going to equip the hospitals because this is where the elephant in the room is. We have many hospitals but many of them do not have drugs. They do not have the facilities. Currently in my constituency, we have a mortuary that has a capacity of 18. Every now and again, it has more than 80 bodies lying to be collected. Why? Most of them died because they could not access a medical facility that is functional. I think at this point it is also good we reconsider why we devolved health to the counties because it is not functioning. It is already dead. Therefore, as it died, so many people are also dying as a result of that. Do we need to return the health docket to the national Government? It is very sad to know that even the very basic facilities and items cannot be obtained in many of these local hospitals. For example, if you get sick in Mukurweini, you are almost assured of death. So, your people should start mourning and perhaps prepare for your burial because chances of you being treated in any public hospital are almost nil. When you go there, there are no medicines, you are even sent to private hospitals for basic lab tests and you have to wait for results to come out so that you can take them back to the doctor. Once you take them back, you will be sent to buy the drugs that are needed. This is a sure way to death. Even if you have a valid NHIF card, it does not cover you for that. That says that we may have a very good programme under the NHIF but then it may not be beneficial to anyone because irrespective of whether it is valid or not, it is not going to help you in terms of clearing your bills and buying medication. We also need to look at the other issue of payment of premiums. I agree that it is a good thing to rope in the employers so that they can match the contributions with their employees. Then again, we need to have a structured way of doing this. We cannot have one premium that is payable by all the employers irrespective of their turnover. It should be, the more you earn, the more you pay. This will ensure that those who do not pay like the 18-year-old Kenyans and the vulnerable will benefit from the programme not on account of them paying the premiums but because somebody who is earning more cushions the one that does not earn as much. The amount given by the small retailers of about Kshs500 per month is very high especially now when we are COVID-19 ravaged. With the rate of unemployment in this country, that amount is very high. Sometimes you see people instead of paying the NHIF contribution, they opt to buy basics like food. They opt to pay school fees instead of paying for their healthcare. That is why, currently, as a Member of Parliament, you become their health security. I know all these Members who are present here, including you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, time and again receive cards for harambees for certain ailments. Somebody is always stuck somewhere and that tells us that the health sector in this country is slowly crumbling. We need to turn it round and ensure that healthcare as a human right is enjoyed by all and sundry irrespective of their economic status. So, I support."
}