Senator flags health insurance irregularities and Sh2bn city infrastructure spending
Senator Onyonka questioned why public hospitals were receiving vastly different amounts from the SHA, with some Level 5 facilities getting more than Sh30 million while others reportedly received less than Sh2,000.
Senator Richard Onyonka of Kisii has asked the Senate to urgently look into alleged disparities in the distribution of money under the Social Health Insurance Fund and to investigate the Sh2 billion Green Park pedestrian underpass project in Nairobi.
He made the appeal in the Senate chamber on Thursday while requesting statements, raising concerns about fairness in public spending and the need for accountability in the use of national resources.
Onyonka questioned why public hospitals were receiving vastly different amounts from the SHA, with some Level 5 facilities getting more than Sh30 million while others reportedly received less than Sh2,000.
He also raised concerns over the Sh104 billion Integrated Health Information Technology System, which is supposed to support the health fund’s rollout and operations.
“There is no uniformity. You cannot explain why a hospital in Embu gets millions while another in Vihiga receives next to nothing. This calls for a full audit,” he said.
Onyonka urged the Senate Health Committee to examine whether the Health Ministry followed lawful procedures when disbursing funds and implementing the SHA system.
In a separate request, the senator questioned the justification for the Sh2 billion cost of constructing the Green Park pedestrian underpass.
He asked the Senate Transport Committee to establish whether any feasibility study was carried out, and whether procurement rules were properly followed.
“Kenyans need to understand how such an amount was justified for a project that appears ordinary at best,” he said.
The underpass, located where Uhuru Highway meets Haile Selassie Avenue, is now 88 per cent complete and is set to be opened to the public in the next four months.
Built by the Kenya National Highways Authority, the tunnel is designed to allow pedestrians to safely move beneath the highway while linking key areas such as Uhuru Park, Nairobi Railways Station, and the city centre.
The project includes CCTV, retail spaces, and lighting, and is meant to mirror similar pedestrian systems in major world cities. It is also expected to ease congestion by modernising traffic flow around one of Nairobi’s busiest junctions.
Onyonka stressed that the two issues, irregular health fund disbursements and questionable infrastructure spending, require full Senate scrutiny. He said the public deserves transparency on how decisions involving billions of shillings are being made.
