Nairobi — President William Ruto has dismissed the Auditor General's report questioning over Sh100 billion in expenditure on the Social Health Authority (SHA) system, stating that the government will only pay for services rendered and not fraudulent claims.

Speaking in Kakamega on Tuesday, Ruto defended the SHA system, emphasizing that the government had implemented it to curb fraudulent claims that had plagued the now-defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

"We want to sort out the problem of fraud from the past. Fake claims and fraudulent claims consumed almost 40 percent of the money that was being raised by NHIF," Ruto said.

The Head of State noted that the government will not fund a system prone to exploitation, insisting that SHA will operate on a fee-for-service model to ensure accountability in healthcare payments.

"They are going to make sure that that system will not be paid for by the government of Kenya. It will be a fee-for-service facility that will protect citizens' contributions," he stated.

Ruto further alleged that those opposing the system were individuals who had benefited from corruption under NHIF and were resistant to a transparent process.

"The people who are complaining are the fellows who have been stealing from us. They don't want a technology system that works because they want to continue stealing from us," he said.

He assured Kenyans that under SHA, hospitals will only be paid for services provided, eliminating arbitrary disbursements that had previously been made under NHIF without accountability.

"Every citizen that is served in every facility, we are going to pay them. We are not going to give free money as was being done under NHIF to hospitals without accountability," he affirmed.

The President's remarks come amid scrutiny over the new health financing system, with stakeholders raising concerns about transparency and the fate of hospitals previously reliant on NHIF disbursements.