Civil servants to benefit from post-retirement medical scheme

The government is in the process of establishing a post-retirement medical scheme that will see civil servants get good quality health care even after they retire.

The Principal Secretary for Public Service Amos Gathecha has said the plan to have the scheme put in place was hatched last year and presented before the cabinet.

But Cabinet advised the department to conduct an actuarial study of the scheme and a consultant was acquired to conduct it.

“We got the draft report two weeks ago. We made our comments and the consultant is now adding the comments on it after which we will present it before Cabinet,” he said.

After the report is approved, Gathecha said civil servants will start making contributions to their post-retirement scheme.

The premiums paid will depend on the age of the individual civil servants with the younger ones expected to pay less as they have more years to work.

 The scheme, he said, is being set up as a way of dignifying civil servants after they retire and will better their lives.

“They will not be relying on fundraisings or their children or the society for their medical needs anymore,” he said.

Gathecha said this while addressing civil servants at Murang’a town Huduma centre where he announced that the government is also partnering with the World Bank to increase the number of the centres countrywide.

Currently, Gathecha said there are only 52 huduma centres and that the plan is to ensure each of the 340 sub-counties has one.

A Huduma Centre master plan is being established, he said, to map out the costs, equipment and human resource that will be required.

“We have just started this plan and we have another meeting on February 7 to crystalize these plans. Afterwards, we will work out how it will be rolled out,” he said.

The government has announced plans to digitize over 5,000 services in the next six months.

Once digitized, the PS said it is the huduma centres that will make the services accessible to the public.

Civil servants working in the centres, he noted, will be trained to capacitate them to handle several services in one desk.

He said some MPs have reached out to his office seeking partnership in the establishment of the centres and that some have started constructing the buildings that will then be equipped by the government.

Gathecha also lauded huduma centres’ workers for offering excellent customer service that encourages Kenyans to visit them for services.

“Huduma centres are the front end of the government and we have told them that we appreciate the work they have been doing,” he said.