Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1344093,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1344093/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 276,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung'wah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "I know that there are fears whenever there are changes. Some skeptics do not believe things can change for the better. I assure Kenyans that this new Social Health Insurance Fund will sort out issues of Universal Healthcare and affordable healthcare. Upon enactment of this Bill and others which are being considered in the Senate, and which will be transmitted here – as I am sure that we will transmit these two Bills to the Senate. We will ensure that no families in Kenya will be declared destitute on account of lack of access to affordable healthcare of a family member. There has been a lot of lobbying because, as I said, people are fearful whenever there is a change in a system. This includes the staffers of the NHIF who, with this Bill's enactment, will lose their jobs. I want to assure our hardworking staffers at NHIF that you will not lose your jobs so long as you have not engaged in corruption and are diligent workers. No Kenyan will lose a job on account of a Bill being enacted. You are being asked to reapply so that the new organisation gets the best out of the NHIF, and others can be redeployed elsewhere. From healthcare providers, NHIF, as it is today, has been a cash cow, as I mentioned from the days of Clinix in the Mwai Kibaki Administration. Those who have attempted to loot NHIF under this administration… I must thank the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Hon. Nakhumicha, for the quick action she took to ensure that governance within NHIF is proper, and nobody takes advantage of funds being contributed by Kenyans to provide affordable healthcare. The cartels managing by proxy and the governance structures of NHIF today are running scared. I know they are mobilising and lobbying, including private hospitals, medical health insurance providers, and insurance companies in this country. They have taken advantage of Kenyans on a matter as dire as their healthcare. It is up to us here today to stop taking advantage of Kenyans when they are most vulnerable during sickness by people who are minting billions in the businesses they run. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I know all those cartels are listening to me. I want to announce to them, as I quote what His Excellency the President said, mambo ni mangapi ? The cartels who have benefited from NHIF mambo ni matatu. This Bill will sort out those cartels. I know many of them have proposed amendments, which I have seen being shuttled between one Member to another. I want to assure them we shall stand guard during the Committee of the whole House not to protect this Bill, but to protect Kenyans who have suffered over the years. It is time we become leaders and put the interests of our people ahead of our own. I want to plead even as we propose amendments in the Committee of the whole House when that time comes, we shall deal with amendments that will help us realise universal health coverage within the shortest time possible. So, we can actualise the dreams Kenyans have had since Independence. That they can walk to a hospital, access affordable and quality health care, and walk back home without worrying about hospital bills. It is a dream Kenyans have dreamt and a vision we can realise together not just within our lifetime, as my deputy is whispering, but within the life of this Session of Parliament or this debate and upon enactment of this Bill. Hon. Deputy Speaker, with those very many remarks, allow me once again to move and request the Chair of the Departmental Committee on Health, Hon. (Dr) Pukose, to second. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker."
}