• Senators blocked Sh6.2 billion to the medical equipment scheme, want controversy cleared.
• Governor Twaha says counties need the money to run operations.
The Senate's scrapping of Sh6.2 billion to counties for the leased medical equipment scheme will stifle operations, Lamu governor Fahim Twaha has said.
The Sh38 billion programme was launched by the national government in 2014 in all 47 counties to improve healthcare.
Lamu was allocated Sh1.1 billion medical equipment including a CT scanner, X-ray machines and dialysis machines.
On April 30, senators voted to remove from the budget the Sh6.2 billion allocated to the scheme in the next financial year.
They said the programme is shrouded in mystery and funding should be put on hold until the controversies are resolved. The Council of Governors has rejected the scheme, saying counties were not involved except to provide space.
They said they have never seen the contract.
Speaking in Lamu on Monday, Twaha said the senators’ intentions were ill-timed as the counties heavily rely on state funding to run and service the majority of the equipment.
He said Lamu county cannot manage the equipment on its own.
Twaha said the national government has a duty to help counties manage the equipment so Kenyans don’t miss out on the much-needed services.
“What the senators want to do is very unwise. They very well know that counties like Lamu can never afford to purchase and manage such equipment, considering the very little allocation we get annually,” Twaha said.
He said Lamu barely had enough cash to run its operations and slashing funds will add anotherburden to the county.
(Edited by O. Owino)