Nyeri Governor Put on Spot Over Hospital Revenue Management

Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga faced tough questioning from the Senator Godfrey Osotsi-led Senate County Public Investment and Special Funds Committee over the management of four major health facilities in the county.

The committee met to scrutinize the Auditor General’s report for the 2024/2025 financial year, focusing on Nyeri County Referral Hospital, Mt. Kenya Sub-County Hospital, Mukurue-ini Sub-County Hospital, and Karatina Sub-County Hospital.

The audit revealed multiple challenges, including unsupported medical revenue, drug inventory gaps, procurement irregularities, severe staff shortages, and the absence of functional hospital Boards of Management.

Central to the inquiry was the Facility Improvement Financing (FIF) framework, which requires that hospital revenue be retained at the source to improve operations and service delivery, instead of being remitted to the County Revenue Fund (CRF).

Senator Osotsi criticized the continued remittance of funds to the CRF, saying,
“Governor, why are these hospitals still remitting revenue to the CRF instead of keeping it in their own accounts as the law demands? By failing to implement the FIF, you are essentially drawing money from these facilities that should be used for medicines. We are telling you: let the hospitals be.”

Senator George Mbugua added concerns over service delivery, noting that millions collected at Karatina and Mukurue-ini hospitals were not translating into adequate supplies, saying centralized control was “strangling our health system.”

Governor Kahiga defended the delay, citing administrative transitions and the need for robust accounting structures and hospital boards before full implementation of FIF. He said the move was meant to ensure accountability, not to withhold resources.

The committee, however, rejected the explanations and ordered the immediate implementation of the FIF Act, directing that all hospital revenue be retained and managed at the facility level to strengthen health service delivery in Nyeri County.