The National Assembly’s departmental Committee on Health has asked the National Treasury to allocate resources in the upcoming and subsequent financial year budgets to compensate referral and specialized hospitals for providing care to indigent patients. The members argued that the facilities despite waving medical bills for thousands of patients are never compensated by the National Treasury. Committee chairperson, Robert Pukose, pointed out that these institutions cannot be allowed to languish in huge debts due to waiving bills for patients who were either unable to pay for their own expenses or whose bills were waived for their kin. “I urge the…
Author: Silas Apollo
Governors have accepted the Sh400 billion proposed by MPs as the equitable share of revenue for counties in the next financial year, ending months of a back and forth between the county bosses and Parliamentarians over the matter. Council of governors chairperson Ann Waiguru, in a statement on Wednesday May 29, 2024, said that the county bosses agreed to accept the amount proposed by MPs after a mediation process. The county bosses had previously called for the increase of the equitable share of revenue to counties in the 2024/25 financial year to about Sh439.5 billion. “The council of governors specially…
The government has secured Sh27 billion to connect 280,000 households to electricity under the Last Mile Connectivity Project.
The National Assembly’s departmental committee on blue economy, water and irrigation has raised concerns over budget cuts in the allocations to semi-autonomous government agencies (SAGAs) under the state department for blue economy and fisheries. The committee chaired by Marakwet East MP Kangogo Bowen brought up the matter when it met with the principal secretary of the state department, Betsy Njagi. Njagi appeared before the committee to brief members on the budget estimates for the 2024/25 financial year and the 2023/24 financial year supplementary II estimates. During the engagement, members noted that although the 2023/24 FY Supplementary II Estimates did not…
The National Assembly’s departmental committee on defence and foreign relations has said that it will hold public hearings regarding the alleged cases of abuse of power and corruption by the British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK) stationed in Laikipia and Samburu counties. The committee chaired by Belgut MP Nelson Koech said that the sessions will be held from Tuesday, May 28 to Thursday, May 30, 2024. The inquiry follows allegations of corruption, fraud, discrimination, and abuse of power within BATUK. Some members of the unit have also been accused of mistreatment, torture, unlawful detention, killings and other violations of…
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission has said that it will appeal a decision by the High Court reinstating a Sh10 million taxable car allowance awarded to judges. SRC chairperson Lyn Mengich, in a press statement on Friday May 24, 2024, said that the ruling issued by the court was a conflict of interest matter. High Court judges Chacha Mwita, Patricia Nyaundi and Lawrence Mugambi had on Friday May 24, 2024 ruled for the return of the allowance, quashing an earlier advisory issued by SRC scrapping the payment. The judges declared a letter issued by SRC on July 12, 2021 revoking…
The government has unveiled an ambitious plan to resolve the perennial traffic congestion in the capital Nairobi, which has cost residents millions of shillings daily in wasted hours sitting in traffic. The Kenya Urban Mobility and Growth Threshold Programme is expected to benefit more than 4.3 million people. Speaking during a meeting with US investors on Thursday, President William Ruto said the initiative will also help tackle the economic growth challenges related to urban land use and planning in the Nairobi metropolitan. “This programme is about delivering results and unlocking greater opportunities for Kenyans,” he said. The Millennium Challenge Corporation…
Retired civil servants could soon have their pensions adjusted to the cost of living in a move by Parliament to shield them from rising inflation and the cost of commodities in the country. Parliament, through the Pensions (Amendment) Bill 2024, wants the Pensions Act Cap 189 to be amended to include an automatic cost of living adjustment to pensions earned by all retired public servants. The Bill sponsored by Matuga MP Kassim Sawa says that any government officer entitled to pensions, gratuities, or other allowances shall receive an automatic cost-of-living adjustment increase when inflation rates justify such an adjustment. “An…
Kenya’s membership in IVI is expected to promote knowledge transfer, enabling self-sufficiency by positioning the country as a vaccine producer in the region.
The High Court has allowed an application by the Senate to be joined in a case in which the National Assembly has been sued over the recently enacted health law. Justices Alfred Mabeya, Robert Limo and Freda Mugambi allowed the application by the Senate, during a mention of the case in which the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) and three other petitioners are challenging the legality of the recently enacted Social Health Insurance Act, 2023. The Senate has sought to be included in the case as an interested party, a request that had been supported by the National…