Cabinet Approves Transition from NHIF to SHA

President William Ruto chaired a meeting of the Cabinet at State House, Nairobi during which a raft of proposals were approved. 

For instance in the implementation of the Universal Health Coverage the Cabinet approved the framework for a full transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Authority (SHA) beginning July 1, 2024. To facilitate this transition, the Ministry of Health will also lead a mass registration exercise commencing on 21st June, 2024, across all 47 counties and on all platforms.

Consequently, the Cabinet urged all Kenyans to register under the new scheme in our nation’s historic endeavour to usher Kenya into the league of nations with healthcare for all. Kenyans can register on phone, at public hospitals and also by the 100,000 Community Health Promoters across the country.

At the meeting, the Cabinet considered and approved the debt waiver for coffee farmers and other coffee sector reforms. Under this programme, the meeting sanctioned the write-off of historical debts amounting to Sh6.8 billion owed by coffee farmers nationwide.

To facilitate the settlement of the debts accrued by farmers, coffee co-operatives, saccos and other creditors are required to submit to the Ministry for Co-operatives, within seven days, the list of all farmers who owe them money and with all the supporting documents for verification and processing of payment. 

Any fraudulent and fictitious claims, the Cabinet warned, will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

The meeting on Parliament to fast-track the enactment of governance reforms for co-operatives to establish institutional safeguards, including the requirement that the process of borrowing by co-operatives is only authorised by farmers during annual General meetings.

To bolster the coffee production value chain, the New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (KPCU) will undergo modernisation in accordance with international best practices. 

Additionally, to address the concerns on the quality of coffee parchments, modern eco-pulpers will be established in all emerging coffee growing areas for primary processing, enhancing efficiency and sustainability of the sub-sector.

The interventions, which will further encompass improved coffee seedlings propagation under the Coffee Research Institute (CRI) are aimed at enhancing the production of coffee to the 200,000 metric tonnes target by 2027.

This will also reposition Kenya’s coffee on the global stage and enhance competitiveness and contribution to the national development agenda because the crop is one of the nation’s premier exports.

As part of the institutional reforms aimed at fostering a sustained turnaround of the economy, and particularly the management and governance of State Corporations, the Cabinet has considered and approved the proposed divestiture of the State’s shareholding in six listed companies.

The divestiture in the six companies, through the sale of shares at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, will optimise the contributions of these investments in the realisation of our national development aspirations. 

The six companies whose government shares are East Africa Portland Cement Limited, Nairobi Securities Exchange, Housing Finance Company of Kenya Limited, Stanbic Holdings, Liberty Kenya Holdings and Eveready East Africa PLC.

According to a dispatch from State House, to strengthen the linkages between tourism and aviation, and to further cement Nairobi’s position as an aviation hub, the Cabinet considered and approved the National Aviation Policy.

The policy seeks to maximise the contribution of the aviation sector to Kenya’s growth by enhancing connectivity at both the national and international levels.

The meeting noted that the aviation ecosystem in Kenya is robust, but pointed out that it was imperative to enhance the capacity of Kenya’s international airports to meet existing and projected demand which is estimated to rise to the 42.1 million passengers a year by 2050.

Cabinet also considered and approved the JKIA Medium Term Investment Plan that includes the upgrade of the passenger terminal, runway, taxiway, apron and airside facilities in keeping with the global aviation trends.

“Kenya continues to open its doors to the world, with recent efforts receiving a boost through the introduction of Visa-Free entry under the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) framework.”

Kenya will therefore play host to several international meetings in the following weeks and months,” the meeting said. 

These include the BlueInvest Forum in July 2024, World Congress of the International Union of Forest Research Organisation in August and building on this new paradigm, Kenya continues to showcase itself as a premier destination for international conferences, particularly in the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) sector. 

This unwavering commitment has resulted in Kenya hosting 50 Heads of State and Government, along with a record number of delegates, in the past year.

In line with this strategic vision and buoyed by the successful hosting of significant events such as the continent’s inaugural Africa Climate Summit, the Africa Heads of State Summit in support of the Twenty First (21st) Replenishment of the Resources of the International Development Association (IDA21), and African Development Bank (AfDB) Group Annual Meeting, Cabinet approved the hosting of the Blueinvest Africa Forum in July 2024 and World Congress of the International Union of Forest Research Organization (IUFRO) in August 2024.

Kenya will also host the East African Community (EAC) Member States in marking this year’s World Kiswahili Day from July 5-7, 2024.

The Cabinet reconvene in accordance with its Calendar on Thursday June 13 2024, to receive and consider the highlights of the Financial Year 2024/25 Budget Policy Statement ahead of its presentation on the same day in the National Assembly. The FY 2024/25 Budget, which is the Administration’s second budget, supports the overarching fiscal consolidation policy by reducing the budget deficit while simultaneously making targeted interventions.