Senators have commenced investigations into the Social Health Authority’s (SHA) Sh104.8 billion system. 

A pet project of President William Ruto, the system has been shrouded in controversy, especially its ownership. 

The lawmakers are inquiring into the Integrated Healthcare Information Technology System (IHTS) with a spotlight on the Ministry of Health. 

The opaque nature of the system’s acquisition and the billions of taxpayers’ money that have gone into it are some of the issues to be looked into. 

The investigations seek to unearth the details of the award of the contract, the number of bids received, the criteria used in selecting the consortium awarded and the cost of the award. 

In addition, the lawmakers want to know the reasons behind what they termed as non-disclosure of the control charges fees of 2.5 per cent on members’ contributions claims on health facilities of five per cent. 

The senators are seeking to establish why the operations of SHA are being conducted by private individuals. 

Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu in a statement sought from the floor, inquired whether the SHA tendering process was transparent. 

“Could the committee explain why Kenya’s health data is being held by private individuals,” Kavindu asked. 

Data sensitivity 

The system is a key component of the Universal Health Programme and is set to be implemented over 12 years, with Safaricom PLC as the lead partner in the consortium responsible for the project. 

The committee also wants to establish why the contract signed between the State and the consortium bars the government or any other person from employing alternative systems. 

They also want to know the details of the signatories to the account in the contract agreement. 

In the probe, the Ministry of Health will explain why there is a transfer of funds to the escrow account. 

Concerns emerged about Safaricom’s role in leading the consortium despite what it termed its limited stake in the project, at approximately 13 per cent. 

The consortium, which includes Apeiro Limited and Konvergenz Network Solutions Limited, was reportedly single-sourced to facilitate the deployment of the IHTS. 

Digital platform 

The procurement, conducted under the Specially Permitted Procurement Procedure (SPPP) involves the development of a comprehensive digital healthcare platform. 

“Could the committee explain non-disclosure of track and trace solutions at a rate of 1.5 per cent for 10 years with projected revenue to the consortium of Sh111 billion,” added Kavindu. 

The ministry will also explain why it did not disclose the Sh7 billion set aside in the contract for training, support and customer education. 

This will include the number of health workers to be trained on the system and the mode of training that led to the said cost. 

The ministry will also provide reasons for the inaccessibility of the Controller of Budget to the Social Health Authority (SHA) as well as the running of its operations outside the Consolidated Fund.