Atwoli: COTU To Quit SHA Board If Autonomy Concerns Persist

The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Kenya) has threatened to pull out of the Social Health Authority (SHA) board, raising concerns about the authority’s lack of independence in running its IT systems.

COTU Secretary-General Francis Atwoli said SHA’s work remains constrained because its IT platform is controlled by the Digital Health Authority (DHA) and the Ministry of Health, even though the law establishes SHA as an independent body.

“For the last one month, Cotu (K) has been seeking an urgent meeting with Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale to address challenges facing SHA, but unfortunately, our efforts have not been successful,” Atwoli said in a statement on Tuesday.

He explained that SHA’s reliance on an IT platform managed by DHA and MoH has weakened its ability to verify and process hospital claims on its own.

“At present, SHA relies on an IT system controlled by DHA and MoH to process and pay hospitals, and this has created challenges because the authority has no mandate over authentication of claims or determining who should be paid,” Atwoli noted.

Atwoli warned that the current arrangement could erode workers’ trust in the Social Health Insurance scheme, since contributors expect SHA to have full control of their funds.

“It is the position of Cotu (K) that workers’ hard-earned money should be managed directly by SHA as provided in law. Unless SHA is given full control of its IT platform, workers may lose faith in the institution, thus affecting compliance and service provision,” he said.

He added that Cotu has already raised the issue at board level and is now weighing whether to remain part of the SHA board.

“Cotu is currently deliberating on whether to continue sitting on a board that has limited authority, or to withdraw entirely,” Atwoli said.

He mentioned that the union will soon convene a meeting at Tom Mboya Labour College to chart the way forward.

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