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{
    "id": 1286264,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1286264/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 469,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "We were just having a discussing with Sen. Oketch Gicheru before I was called to reply on the centralisation versus decentralisation of systems in our county government. I was explaining to him that as much as Clause 26 of the Bill proposes a centralised approach to procurement of goods and services, there is nothing different that this Bill is proposing separate from what happens in all the other departments of a county government. If you go to roads, water or any other department of a county government, it is the same centralised system because of uniformity of practice, even for ease of procuring goods and services. I think the most important and the greatest gain; because I even saw the memorandum from the Council of Governors (CoG), is the fact that you ring-fence this money and ensure that it serves to develop that particular health center. Madam Temporary Speaker, subsequently, I have also heard concerns by Members who say that this money is not sufficient. Of course, it is not sufficient. The fact that you have ring-fenced this money, does not mean that you have blocked any additional funding to that health center. I am just about to move a subsequent Bill on facilities improvement once we conclude this business. That is actually the next Bill, which is a separate line of funding again to our health facilities; separate from this particular resource basket. The two other Bills that are being presently considered in the National Assembly speak to revenue raising measures, actually, on how to fund UHC. I do not know if it was Sen. Mumma. I listened to them explain and do not know whether it is the fact that I did not go into detail about the concept of UHC, but I never said or neither is it the intention of this Bill to say that this is the single Bill that will bring about UHC. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is one of the four enabling Bills. The other two Bills that are in the National Assembly speak to issues of, for example, standardisation of payment procedures for insurances. For example, Sen. Oketch Gicheru, if a teacher in Migori goes to one of the private hospitals and presents their National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) card, chances are, what they will be charged is twice what they will pay at Migori County Hospital for the same procedure. It will also take Migori County Hospital maybe the full financial year before they file and receive their claims, yet, because of corruption issues and oiling people’s hands at NHIF, that private facility that charged double the amount will get that money within one month. That is what has depleted many of our public health insurance schemes and even the private ones as well. There are Bills that are standardizing that procedure; two of them are now in the National Assembly. Part of the resource basket that is being raised is the third revenue stream to these particular facilities. We will be explaining more when moving those Bills subsequently. That is why when I was moving this particular Bill, I said that as much as in standard procedure you speak to the Bill that is before you, you cannot divorce all the four bills jointly put together and how their contribution comes to put together UHC. That is why it is important that we handle them together, so that we have a conversation about it. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard Services,Senate."
}