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{
    "id": 678853,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/678853/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 287,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am guided and will not make that reference. However, the Chairperson of NHIF is a presidential appointee, and the trend in this country is that rejected politicians or retired civil servants are posted to chair some boards. When someone has retired from the Civil Service, what other incremental value is he going to bring into these boards? We have to look at the composition of parastatal boards. This Jubilee Government promised to undertake significant reforms in parastatals, which has not been delivered. Legislation in this House keeps coming up with a new parastatal and authority and we are always in a rush to fill them because that is the only way we can fulfill some electoral promises. We need to see to it that we let professionals run NHIF, not just in the board but also in the management. This is because I also have information that appointment to top managerial positions is usually skewed; based on ethnic or political affiliation. We must allow NHIF to be run as a professional body. It must also adopt technology. I am aware that the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) has many times attempted to modernize its operations but it is people in politics and Government who want to influence multi-million tenders and derail the efforts of state corporations from achieving the efficiencies that they want. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as I conclude, the NHIF must also move beyond the employed because right now, they are milking the employed and they are not creative enough to broaden their net. The reason why the NHIF has got 90 per cent of the insured population is because it is its mandatory. If it was not mandatory, maybe it would not have those kinds of numbers. So, it needs to be more creative to attract more people. They need to create incentives for people to join and opt in. Finally, we must also ask ourselves this: There is the cash transfer programme that has been in this House several times where we send money to orphans, vulnerable groups, children and widows, but is that working? Is the solutions sending cash or is it creating certain social cushions so that when I fall sick and I am an orphan, I know that I The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}