Uhuru rules out hiring as teachers vow strike still on

Teachers have vowed to press on with their strike as Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta ruled out the recruitment of 28,000 teachers this financial year.

Mr Uhuru told Parliament Wednesday that the Treasury does not have the additional Sh5 billion to recruit the new staff.

A strike called by the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) to pressure the government into recruiting the teachers has paralysed learning in public schools that opened on Monday for the third term. (Read: Teachers strike shuts down public schools)

But Wednesday, Mr Uhuru spoke firmly over the matter, arguing that Treasury could not afford to hire the teachers.

“They, (teachers) can go on with their strike or end it and go back to the negotiating table; but the government has no money to put the new staff on the payroll on permanent terms,” he said.

But immediately Knut asked Mr Kenyatta to tread carefully on the matter “or he may be forced to retract his words”.

Knut secretary-general David Okuta said the government has no option but to look for the money for the employment of the 28,000 teachers.

“This strike will continue until we have a proper settlement. Let Mr Kenyatta be advised that this is not a matter we are taking lightly.”

The officials spoke immediately after meeting Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, where they reported that a breakthrough may be achieved soon.

“We had a candid discussion on the matter with the VP and we expect a response today,” Mr Okuta said.

Mr Kenyatta, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, had pleaded with teachers to end their strike and return to the negotiating table.

Mr Kenyatta told MPs — who had specifically set aside a full hour of the parliamentary time to discuss the crisis in public schools — that the government had no money; and that teachers, MPs and all concerned parties should go back to talks to see how the national shortfall of 76,000 teachers will be addressed permanently.

“It is not just a matter of allocating money, which we don’t have,” he said.

He told the lawmakers that Parliament’s Budget Committee and the Speaker had all acquiesced to the decision to postpone the recruitment, and they should not, just because they are cornered by the teachers, come out to pontificate that they favoured the strike.

“I’d like to remind this House that there were intense negotiations before this decision was taken and it even involved your (the Speaker’s) office… We agreed that this issue requires further discussion,” said Mr Kenyatta.

He defended the Treasury’s decision to allocate money to the military, saying the four-year cycle for pay review in the military was due, and as such, there was discontent in the defence forces over poor pay.

“We had no choice, but to agree to pay,” he said, adding that the nurses and other civil servants are next in line.

MPs, however, remained mum about their own extra-budgetary deal where they were given Sh2 billion from the Contingency Fund, which deals with emergencies, to pay their tax debt.

In exchange, they are reported to have agreed to pass the Budget which transferred savings to the military and the intelligence services.