Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago has slammed Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia remarks to revert the health docket back to the national government terming it as ill intended.
Speaking to journalists on Sunday at the county government headquarters, Mandago urged the CS to assess how the counties are managing the sector saying there is a big difference compared to how they were run by the national government.
"We took over the health sector when it was in a bad state. It had few nurses, while those who were there, some were absconding duty. Their working conditions were poor and besides, hospitals had no drugs.”
“But the county governments have transformed the sector. Yes, we have minor challenges such as salaries for the nurses. However, this should not be used to measure our capacity to run the health sector," said Mandago.
He reiterated that the CS should keep off since he is not in charge of the health ministry in the counties but the national government.
The national government manages only two hospitals, Kenyatta National Hospital and the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.
"Which parameter did he use to show that county governments have failed in mandate? The national government should give us an opportunity to improve on where we had challenges," he added.
Last week, CS Macharia said the national government will not just sit down and watch as the health sector is run down as counties have failed in their management.