Governors reject ministry’s push to transfer UHC staff without resources

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The tug of war over the future of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff has deepened, with the Council of Governors (CoG) firmly rejecting the Ministry of Health’s latest directive to transfer the workers to county governments.

In a strongly worded statement issued on Monday, CoG Health Committee chair, Governor Muthomi Njuki, accused the Ministry of backtracking on earlier agreements.

He says the government was attempting to “prematurely and untimely” offload UHC staff without settling key obligations.

The Ministry of Health had on Saturday, August 23, 2025, announced that counties would take over the management and payroll of UHC staff as part of the ongoing devolution of health services.

However, the governors insist that the move contradicts what was agreed upon in earlier consultations between the two levels of government.

Governor Njuki said it had been agreed that the national government would first allocate adequate funds, aligned with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) scales, before any transfer of payroll could take place.

“Since the contracts are still valid, the decision to transfer the staff at this time is premature and untimely,” he said.

The governors also questioned the integrity of the verification exercise conducted on UHC staff.

According to them, the final report has not been validated or officially shared, making the proposed transfer “procedurally".

A major sticking point is the issue of gratuity. Many UHC workers are currently employed on contractual terms and, therefore, entitled to gratuity payments from the Ministry of Health.

“The Ministry of Health should settle all gratuity payments for UHC staff before their transition to County Governments,” Mr Njuki said.

He stressed that counties would only absorb staff once the gratuity obligations were honoured and resources disbursed.

Despite their resistance, the governors reaffirmed their commitment to eventually absorb verified UHC staff into county payrolls.

But this, they say, can only happen under certain conditions:

Full allocation of funds to counties by the national government.

Settlement of all gratuity dues by the Ministry of Health.

Alignment of salaries to SRC-approved scales.

Failure to meet these conditions, they warned, would make absorption “unattainable”.

The Council reminded the Ministry of Health that Kenya’s Constitution requires the two levels of government to operate on the basis of consultation, not unilateral directives.

“The Constitution provides that both levels of government should relate on the basis of consultation as opposed to directive,” said Mr Njuki.

The dispute over UHC staff is the latest flashpoint in the broader challenges of devolved health care.

Thousands of health workers were contracted by the national government under the UHC pilot programme, launched to expand access to affordable health services.

As the programme transitions into a nationwide system under the devolved health framework, the fate of these workers has been a matter of contention.

Counties argue that they cannot take over the payroll without adequate resources, while the Ministry insists the transfer is part of strengthening local health systems.