In a show of the first step in finding a common ground after a long-standing stalemate, staff at the National Health Insurance Fund have been granted a seat at the transitional committee on the social health insurance fund, thanks to City lawyer Bonventure Otieno.
According to documents in our possessions, the ongoing talks that are meant to find a truce on mediation matters concerning the management of staff during the transition, the Transition Committee Chairperson, Mr. Kap Kirwok Jason, has extended the gesture to inviting the staff for a meeting on Friday April 26, 2024.
‘’The Transition Committee is pleased to invite the representatives of the management staff (NHIF) to a meeting to be held tomorrow April 26, 2024 at 11.00 am at the NHIF building,’’ read part of the letter.
For months, the staff and its management have been agitating for their voices to be heard even as proposals have been made already issue a 1 -year grace period for the existing staff to re-apply for their positions during the transitional period.
As the 58- year-old State agency is set to undergo a split into three outfits as part of the ongoing reforms which include having the institution renamed as the Social Health Insurance Fund.
The staff through Bonventure and Associates Advocates had indicated there concerns of being left out of the talks and they felt aggrieved of the nature they were proceeding and to them it showed ‘a lack of confidence’ on the part of the government in having them retained as staff.
The legal representation argued that the management staff has vast knowledge and expertise that will prove vital to the talks.
“They are a group of with wealth of experience in management and therefore are ready to offer the same during the transition. However, a number also have grievances that that they believe the committee needs to look into,’’said Bonventure Otieno in documents on our desk, the advocate is mediation counsel in the matter.
Mr. Otieno, an acclaimed legal mind oversaw the mediation talks on behalf of the National Health Insurance Fund management staff granting what can be seen as a win for them in getting seat at the ongoing talks.