NYS workers building Somalia border wall boycott work over pay
Some of the concrete poles for security wall construction at the National Youth Service (NYS) Mandera camp. NYS personnel working on the border security wall have down their tools over unpaid allowances for the second time. PHOTO | MANASE OTSIALO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The more than 20 personnel, including machine operators, drivers and technicians, accused the government of neglecting them.
- They vowed to return to work only after being paid all their allowances.
- They also want a comprehensive medical cover and to be given protective gear, including bulletproof jackets.
- They called on the anti-corruption agency to launch investigations into the wall project, claiming a few senior individuals were benefiting at the expense of the junior officers.
National Youth Service (NYS) personnel deployed to construct the Kenya-Somalia border wall have downed their tools over the agency's delays in paying their allowances.
Speaking to the Nation in Mandera Town, the more than 20 personnel, including machine operators, drivers and technicians, accused the government of neglecting them.
“We are 45 in number but some of our colleagues have left since the working conditions are difficult, especially without payment, as we have families depending on us,” said Mr Ismael Abdi.
Mr Abdi, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said efforts to reach the NYS headquarters for intervention had been fruitless.
He accused the project coordinator of misinforming the NYS director-general on their work.
“The project coordinator has been threatening to fire anybody asking for his pay and so far one of us has been dismissed. However, as a team we have decided not to work until we are paid,” said Mr Abdi.
According to the protesting personnel, they each get a basic salary of Sh13,000 but they were also supposed to be paid Sh12,600 each immediately after they arrived from Nairobi and a daily allowance of Sh4,200 since March.
“The head office back in Nairobi has engaged us in a hide-and-seek game over our allowances,’ said Mr Abdi.
They vowed to return to work only after being paid all their allowances. They also want a comprehensive medical cover and to be given protective gear, including bulletproof jackets.
CORRUPTION CLAIMS
They called on the anti-corruption agency to investigate the wall project, claiming a few senior individuals were benefiting at the expense of the junior officers.
The Kenya-Somalia security wall project was launched in March 2015 but has faced several challenges.
These include protests from the Somalia administration, claiming the Kenya government wants to lock out Somalis from doing business with their Kenyan counterparts.
The project is aimed at blocking Al-Shabaab militants by providing specific entry and exit points with police checks to reduce the flow of illegal arms into the country.
Initially, what was to be a purely concrete and mortar wall stretching from Mandera Border Point 1 to Kiunga in Lamu County, 800km away, was changed by the Interior ministry to include a physical wall, a barbed electric fence and trenches on the stretch.
The project was mooted in the aftermath of the Garissa University College terrorist attack.
Only the survey work for the wall has been completed, said a source at the office coordinating the construction.
Efforts to reach the project coordinator, Mr Charles Wambugu, were fruitless as his phone went unanswered.
