Counties fail to utilize costly health investments, Auditor General warns

Millions of shillings in public funds have been spent on medical equipment and healthcare facilities that remain idle in various counties, raising concerns about wastage and inefficiency, according to Auditor General Nancy Gathungu’s latest report for the 2023/2024 financial year.

The report reveals instances where counties acquired expensive medical equipment or constructed health facilities that have yet to serve residents.

The Auditor General questions whether these investments offer any benefit to the public.

In Kilifi County, an incinerator worth Sh33.49 million was delivered on March 5, 2024, but had yet to be used by October 2024.

Additionally, the county purchased digital X-ray machines for Sh14.4 million, yet one delivered in February 2024 was still in storage at the time of the audit.

Kitui County faced similar problems. A Sh2.2 million X-ray building at Kauwi Hospital was completed but remained unused due to a delay in installing the machine.

Meanwhile, Kitui County Referral Hospital received an oxygen plant valued at Sh14.5 million in the 2016/2017 financial year, but it had yet to be installed or put to use.

The machine was left in an unsecured outdoor space, making it vulnerable to weather damage.

In Machakos County, payroll records showed that 67 clinical officers and 61 medical doctors were being paid, yet reports from the Integrated Health Management System indicated they had not provided any services since September 2023, following the digitization of Level Four and Five hospitals, and between February and March 2024, when Level Three and Four facilities were digitized.

Nyeri County’s Naromoru Level Four Hospital has two fully equipped surgical theatres, costing Sh9.7 million, but they remain unused.

In Nakuru County, four completed health projects valued at Sh30.2 million have yet to be utilized, as three lack equipment while one remains without a generator.

Siaya County’s Got Agulu Hospital has an X-ray machine sitting idle because there is no radiographer to operate it.

In Kisumu County, maternity units in Dago Kotiende and Kowino, along with rehabilitation works at Chulaimbo Sub-County Hospital, were completed at a cost of Sh10.8 million.

However, an inspection in September 2024 found that the facilities had yet to be used.

Migori County’s Rongo Sub-County Hospital has a Sh2.9 million ablution block that remains unused because the contractor has not officially handed it over.

Meanwhile, Kisii County continues to invest in projects that remain idle, with one costing Sh3.2 million still awaiting utilization despite being completed.

The Auditor General cited these cases as violations of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012, particularly Section 149, which requires proper use of public resources.