The charade that is playing out at National Hospital Insurance Fund begs the question - is this Kenya under the Constitution of Kenya 2010 or is it Kenya in the Moi KANU one party state?

The despicable, crude, stone-age corruption that has played out in the last few days as the Parliamentary Committee on Health publicly interrogated the disbursal of National Hospital Insurance Fund monies to dubious and ghost clinics is shocking and heart rending.

If the goings on at National Insurance Fund are a glimpse of the way public funds are managed by the statutorily established funds like the National Social Security Fund, (NSSF) the Catering Levy Trust, the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK), the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCA), Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) and many others which collect public money by fiat of Acts of Parliament then this country is doomed to wallow in poverty and under-development for years to come and the hogwash of Vision 2030 must be debunked as it will not happen.

The tragedy is that the toxic and tribally laced corruption, mismanagement, impunity, misuse of public funds is taking place under the watch of Professor Anyang Nyongo who has been among those self proclaimed reformists who are quick to call those who oppose them as anti-reformists.  Is the orgy of corruption that is unraveling at NHIF the much hyped reform Kenyans are being promised by those stampeding for electoral office?

The people of Kenya have a tall mountain to climb to rid this country of corruption, impunity and criminality.  The goings on at NHIF are plainly criminal.  So where is the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keriako Tobiko?  And where is the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission?  It is plain trickery and a calculated cover-up for the Minister for Medical Services to propose that a dubious entity called the Efficient Monitoring Unit (EMU) under the Prime Minister’s Office should investigate the criminal goings on at NHIF?  The EMU is simply a unit created under no Act of Parliament or the Constitution.  It cannot prosecute anybody in law.  It can only make recommendations to legally created bodies like the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions.  For the Minister to suggest that this Anglo-Leasing style corruption of NHIF should be combated by the Efficient Monitory Unit (EMU) is a ploy to buy time and cover up the scandal.

The time is ripe for the National Hospital Insurance Fund Act to be overhauled and new governance structures to be put in place if it has to serve its intended purposes of being a provider of healthcare to its member contributors.  The NHIF as presently constituted cannot be trusted to deliver its mandate.  And a newly restructured NHIF must be decentralized and dispersed to the Counties to breakdown the cartels headquartered at Nairobi that are presently looting public members contribution through dubious schemes and ghost hospitals.  And yes, let Kenya Revenue Authority be mandated to collect the members contributions and thereby weed out and reduce the corrupt administrative structures that constitute the babel of corruption that is NHIF.

Those who have been shouting themselves hoarse about Chapter 6 of the Constitution on leadership and integrity have a clear, obvious case to demonstrate their commitment to reform and fidelity to the Constitution.  Can they filter the Minister, the Permanent Secretary, the Board Members of NHIF, the top management of NHIF being the Chief Executive Officer under Chapter 6 of the Constitution and if they fail to dismiss them and those who have committed offences to be speedily prosecuted.

The NHIF corruption and criminality is a good case to further test the rhetoric of the Prime Minister who proclaims that he is a reformist.  Will he deal with the Secretary General of his party ODM who is the Minister who is in the eye of the storm or will he do a somersault and cover up his Minister.

West fm states that talk about fighting corruption in Kenya by the political class is a hoax.  They only want to change the monkeys in the forest but the forest of corruption remains intact. The electorate is the only one that will get rid of corruption in this country by voting out corrupt leaders from elective offices and voting in men and women of integrity.

WEST FM EDITORIAL©2012