Safina Deputy Leader Willis Otieno on Thursday criticised the government over its spending priorities, questioning the Sh104 billion cost associated with the Social Health Authority (SHA) information system and rising allocations to State House while Kenyans continue to face pressure over healthcare, taxes and the cost of living.
Otieno's criticism comes amid renewed scrutiny of the SHA system following an Auditor-General's report that raised concerns about how the technology was procured and whether the expenditure represented value for money.
The Sh104 billion figure cited by Otieno relates to the contracted SHA healthcare information system.
The Auditor-General reported that the procurement was unbudgeted and used a non-competitive procedure, while questions were also raised over ownership and control of the system.
However, the figure requires context. President William Ruto has disputed the description of the Sh104 billion as money already paid by the government for software, saying the state would not pay the entire amount as an upfront software purchase.
Parliament's own records, meanwhile, refer to the Sh104 billion investment in the Comprehensive Health Integrated System and have sought clarification from the Health Ministry on how the investment would be financed.
The Safina deputy leader nevertheless used the figure to question the government's priorities, contrasting it with conditions in public hospitals and schools.
"Blowing Sh104 billion on shady SHA software while hospitals lack medicine and patients struggle to access care. Spending over Sh10 billion polishing State House while children learn under leaking roofs," he said.
The claim that more than Sh10 billion was spent specifically on State House renovations is not supported by the budget figures reviewed for this report.
The official allocations show that State House's total budget—not renovations alone—was Sh8.58 billion in FY2025/26 and Sh13.64 billion in FY2026/27.
Within the FY2025/26 allocation, Sh894.9 million was earmarked for development works across State House facilities and lodges, including Sh680.7 million for general maintenance at State House Nairobi.
For FY2026/27, the development allocation for State House stands at Sh1.027 billion. Of this, Sh530.4 million is listed for general maintenance works at State House Nairobi, while additional amounts are allocated for refurbishment at Mombasa and Nakuru and rehabilitation at other state lodges.
This means the budgets do include State House maintenance and refurbishment, but the available figures do not show a Sh10 billion renovation allocation.
State House expenditure has, however, risen substantially under the current administration. The total allocation increased from Sh9.496 billion in FY2023/24 to Sh13.644 billion in FY2026/27, although the former figure relates to the broader State House Affairs vote.
The increase is even more pronounced when compared with the final years of the previous administration.
In FY2022/23, the State House Affairs allocation was about Sh6.16 billion for the Coordination of State House Functions, according to Treasury budget data. Treasury's FY2023/24 estimates initially put State House Affairs at Sh7.30 billion before supplementary allocations subsequently increased the figure to about Sh9.84 billion.
The current administration's State House allocation was also revised upward during FY2025/26. Treasury documents show the approved gross estimate rising from Sh17.5 billion to Sh18.5 billion after a supplementary increase of Sh1 billion for operations and maintenance.
Otieno further noted that the government's spending choices were difficult to reconcile with calls for Kenyans to make sacrifices.
"Then they come to Kenyans and lecture us about 'tough decisions.' If this is Ruto's idea of tough leadership, then the message is painfully clear: The suffering is for Kenyans. The comfort is reserved for the political class," he said.
He argued that citizens were bearing higher taxes, prices and healthcare costs while government expenditure remained high.
"Ordinary citizens are told to pay more taxes, accept higher prices, endure expensive healthcare and tighten their belts. Meanwhile, those in power continue spending public resources with a level of comfort completely disconnected from the reality of the people they govern," he said.
Otieno further argued that Kenya's problem was not necessarily a shortage of money but the priorities determining how public resources were allocated.
"You cannot tell Kenyans there is no money for hospitals, schools and essential services while billions are available for political comfort and questionable projects," he said.
"The problem is not that Kenya has no money. The problem is who gets to spend it and what they choose to spend it on," he added.