Ruto’s Chief Advisor Clarifies Ksh104 Billion SHA System, Its Ownership
David Ndii, Chairperson of the Presidential Council for Economic Advisors, has denied reports that the government spent Ksh104 billion to acquire the technology that runs the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Ndii wrote on X to defend President William Ruto’s administration, claiming that despite outsourcing the current health system, no money was spent on it.
He claimed that the Ksh104 billion was charged by the system’s owners as user fees and would be paid over the following ten years, as stipulated in the contract.
“The UHC digital platform is fully outsourced. The Government of Kenya has not spent one Ksh on it. Ksh104 billion is user fees payable over a 10-year contract period,” Ndii clarified.
According to Ndii, Kenyans spent Ksh77 billion last year paying user fees to one of the country’s main mobile service providers.
He stated that the new SHA system would give equal functionality for Ksh10 billion per year, which equates to Ksh50 for each hospital visit every person.
The UHC digital platform is fully outsourced. GoK has not spent one Ksh on it. Sh104b is user fees payable over 10yr contract period. For comparison we paid Safaricom Sh77b mpesa fees last year. The platform will provide similar capability at Sh10b/year ~Sh50 per hospital visit. https://t.co/NsjWjNuQt0
— David Ndii (@DavidNdii) March 4, 2025
The government advisor was obliged to clarify the situation after a group of Kenyans resorted to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the government’s choice to invest billions of dollars in a new health system that failed.
Ndii’s clarification came when Auditor General Nancy Gathungu noted that, despite huge investment in the new health system that oversees SHA, the government did not own or control it.
SHA software is only one of the components. SHA SaaS will cost Sh2.3b ie Sh230m per year. NHIF was spending Sh450m/year. The software services also includes HMIS for 7000+ public health facilities + data transmission services (from Safaricom😊) and infrastructure. https://t.co/59ZeE3CMxY
— David Ndii (@DavidNdii) March 4, 2025
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Gathungu discovered that, despite the multibillion-dollar investment in the system, the government did not own any intellectual property rights, limiting its control over the system.
According to the audit, the system was not procured through a competitive bidding procedure as required by the constitution, with the Auditor General asserting that the contractor was hired directly.
“This process was contrary to Article 227(1), which requires a fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and cost-effective way of acquiring goods and services,” Gathungu stated.
Gathungu further claimed that any issues emerging from the contract between the government and the system owners will be handled by the London Court of International Arbitration rather than local courts.
Ruto’s Chief Advisor Clarifies Ksh104 Billion SHA System, Its Ownership
