The church should not cry without giving solutions – Shollei

National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Shollei has called out the catholic bishops for what she terms crying without offering solutions.

In a live TV interview on Monday, November 18, 2024, Shollei castigated the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) for revealing that they had personally discussed with President William Ruto the pending debts owed to faith-based health facilities.

“Good manners and proper ethics is that if I have had a conversation with the head of state over a problem, I then don’t go in public and announce it. That is just bad manners,” Shollei said.

Adding: “They are not supposed to come out and cry, say things are bad and everything is going wrong without giving a solution.”

Bishops call out lies

Shollei took issue with the Thursday, November 14, 2024, decision by the bishops to call out the state, noting that the men of cloth were playing to the public gallery instead of seeking a direct audience with the president.

“If they really wanted to resolve the problem with the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) or Social Health Authority (SHA), what they should do is seek an appointment with the head of state and say this is what we see is going wrong, these are our proposed solutions and this is where we can help in trying to resolve it,” Shollei noted.

With faith-based organisations running a significant chunk of the health facilities and medical training schools in the country, the bishops indicated in their presser that physical meetings with Ruto had failed to yield any fruits despite promises made.

Church owed billions

The churches are owed money running into billions by the defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), sums that have greatly impacted their service delivery.

“When the Government fails to fulfil its promises, particularly concerning payments to essential service providers, it harms vulnerable communities,” KCCB chairperson, Maurice Muhatia said.

Adding: “This is the case with NHIF. The neglect of Faith-Based Organizations (FBO) hospitals, now owed billions in dues, is an issue we have addressed constantly even with the President.

However, Shollei maintains that the church had erred by issuing a public statement, noting that instead, the church should preach hope to Kenyans.

“The church should not be selling doom, telling everybody that things are crumbling and there is anxiety. The church is supposed to sell hope and hold our faith,” Shollei remarked.