Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has assured workers transitioning from the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the newly established Social Health Authority (SHA) that nobody will likely be rendered jobless.
Speaking on Tuesday, July 22, Duale acknowledged the anxiousness amongst employees, notably those that had beforehand been seconded to ministries and the Public Service Commission (PSC), the place some suffered drastic wage cuts of as much as 90 %. He moved to dispel fears, stating that each one workers will both be absorbed into SHA or redeployed inside the public service.
“Let me be clear, no workers will lose their job,” Duale stated. “Those redeployed if not absorbed by the SHA will go along with their present grades and remunerations.”
The ongoing recruitment into SHA is guided by the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023 (SHI Act), which emphasizes equity, competitiveness, and integrity. Duale stated the federal government is constructing the brand new establishment from the bottom up and is eager on hiring people based mostly on advantage and innovation.
“We are constructing a brand new organisation from the bottom up, and this requires a brand new method to expertise acquisition that prioritises integrity, competence and innovation,” he defined.
Qualified former NHIF workers will likely be given precedence within the recruitment course of. For those that is probably not absorbed by means of the aggressive course of, Duale reiterated that they are going to be redeployed throughout the broader public service with out dropping their present pay or job standing.
In order to guard the integrity of the transition, the Ministry of Health has initiated a vetting train to confirm the authenticity of educational {and professional} {qualifications}. Duale indicated that authorized motion could be initiated in opposition to people discovered to have cast paperwork.
He additionally urged transitioning workers to stay centered on delivering high quality service to the general public.
“Serving Kenyans diligently is the responsibility of every considered one of us, in each function we maintain,” he stated.
The SHA, launched below the Taifa-Care initiative on October 1, 2024, has already enrolled over 24 million Kenyans. The program goals to ship reasonably priced and accessible healthcare for all.
