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Baringo under fire over ‘illegal’ 10pc health funds deductions
A view of the Baringo County Assembly building.
The county government of Baringo is under scrutiny following revelations that it has been collecting 10 percent of funds generated by health facilities, a practice now deemed illegal by the Senate.
In May 2024, the Baringo County Assembly enacted the County Health Improvement Financing (FIF) Act, aimed at strengthening healthcare funding. The law was designed to allow health facilities to retain revenue collected from user fees to support operational and maintenance costs.
The Act also established governance structures and accountability measures to ensure that funds collected at hospitals, health centres, dispensaries, and public health offices are properly managed and utilised at the source.
However, during a fact-finding tour of the county on April 14 and 15, 2026, the Senate Health Committee discovered that the county law requires health facilities to remit 10 percent of their revenue to the county headquarters in Kabarnet, a provision the committee termed illegal.
Senators say the practice contravenes national legislation governing FIF, which requires that funds collected at health facilities remain at those facilities and are used to directly improve service delivery.
The committee has consequently ordered the county government to immediately stop the remittance and comply with national legislation, which requires that all FIF funds be retained and used within the facilities where they are generated.
“The Baringo County Assembly passed an Act requiring 10 percent of facility funds to be remitted to the headquarters. However, the Senate has since passed national legislation governing FIF,” said Committee Chairperson Jackson Mandago.
He was accompanied by senators Vincent Chemitei (Baringo) and Francis Onyonka (Kisii) during the tour.
“The law is clear: where there is a conflict between county and national legislation, the national law prevails. We have instructed the county government to cease these remittances and ensure that funds raised in each facility are used within that facility,” he stated.
Data obtained by Daily Nation shows that the county has collected Sh261 million since July last year. Between July and March this year, Sh189 million was raised, of which Sh18.9 million, equivalent to 10 percent, was remitted to the county headquarters.
County Executive Committee Member for Health, Dr Solomon Sirma, defended the deductions, stating that they were approved through public participation and enacted into law by the county assembly.
“The 10 percent remittance is meant to supplement funding for supervision by the County Health Management Team. These funds support activities such as fuel, vehicle maintenance, and operational logistics,” said Dr Sirma.
He maintained that all expenditures are typically conducted in accordance with proper accounting procedures and are fully documented.
Despite the Senate’s directive to halt the remittances, Dr Sirma indicated that the county government would seek further guidance before implementing the changes.
“We have been advised to stop, but we need formal direction and consultation before taking action,” he said.
Senator Mandago emphasised that each health facility must establish a management committee elected through public participation and formally gazetted to oversee the use of funds.
Facility administrators, he said, are required to prepare budgets and ensure that expenditures comply with the law.
“Our expectation is that FIF funds will improve services at the facility level, not replace county government funding. These funds should address urgent needs such as drug shortages, staff support, and improvements to working conditions,” said the Senate health committee chairperson.
Programmes officer at the Centre for Enhancing Democracy and Good Governance (CEDGG) Evans Kibet, also questioned the county’s approach, noting that the FIF framework is intended to ensure facilities retain and directly utilise their revenue, subject to oversight by the relevant authorities.
“While the idea of allocating a portion of funds for supervision may sound reasonable, there is little transparency on how this money is actually used. It undermines the core objective of FIF, which is to keep resources at the facility level,” said Mr Kibet.
He added that stakeholders have struggled to obtain clear explanations on how the remitted funds are spent, raising concerns about accountability.
“We recently had a stakeholder meeting and we wanted to know how the money is being spent, but it became difficult to explain how the funds are spent. Why does the county government want money for supervision from FIF and yet they can still budget for it from the department,” he added.
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