Nurses strike over unpaid May salary enters fifth day in Tharaka-Nithi
Patients at the Chuka General Hospital after health officers boycotted duty demanding payment of their May salaries. Many of them were forced to seek for treatment in private hospitals. PHOTO | ALEX NJERU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Tharaka-Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki, however, said he had confirmed the national government sent money on time.
- The Senate Majority Leader said Tharaka-Nithi allocations must have been channelled to other work and asked the governor to ensure that the health workers were paid immediately.
- Speaking to media in Chuka Town on Friday, the nurses’ union branch secretary Kenneth Micheni said that the workers would only go back to work when the last person gets his pay.
A health workers’ strike in Tharaka-Nithi County entered its fifth day on Friday, causing patients more suffering.
The strike over unpaid May salaries continued as the county government maintained that the national government should be blamed for the delay.
Tharaka-Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki, however, said he had confirmed the national government sent money on time.
Through a Facebook post, Prof Kindiki said he has confirmed with the Treasury that the money was sent at the same time with other counties and not late as Tharaka-Nithi government leaders claimed.
“The explanation from Treasury and Afya House is that Tharaka-Nithi like many other counties has not ring fenced health money disbursed to them. The money goes to common basket called county revenue account and may be used to pay any service including contractors,” said Prof Kindiki.
The Senator said his effort to amend the Public Finance Act 2012 was to ring-fence money meant for a particular department so that it would not be channeled to another docket to avoid hitches.
“It has been agreed that I draft a bill to amend the Public Finance Management Act 2012 compelling counties to ring-fence monies and keep separate vote heads for the different departments just as the national government.
He added: “That is why national money for the Ministry of Defence cannot be used to pay road constructors or to pay Ministry of Water staff but registration is a long process.
“In the meantime I call on Tharaka-Nithi County government to ring-fence money for the health sector to spare patients the agony they are experiencing. The county government must pay health workers their dues immediately,” said Prof Kindiki.
Empty beds in Chuka General Hospital's maternity ward in Tharaka-Nithi County following a past health workers' strike over delayed pay. Doctors in public hospitals in Embu County have threatened to down their tools from July 26, 2016, to protest an acute shortage of medical personnel. PHOTO | ALEX NJERU |NATION MEDIA GROUP |
MONEY CHANNELED TO OTHER WORK
The Senate Majority Leader said Tharaka-Nithi allocations must have been channelled to other work and asked the governor to ensure that the health workers were paid immediately.
As the patients continue to suffer in the villages, the few who are still in the wards in critical condition in Chuka General Hospital are urging the county government to reduce the Sh15, 000 charges for the ambulance for them to be transferred to Embu General Hospital.
A patient, Mr John Kimathi, said at Chuka General Hospital that other patients have been transferred and he has been left there because he does not have the money charged for ambulance.
“Will I die here because my people cannot afford Sh15,000 for the ambulance? I am asking them to take me home because even in Embu Hospital I will not be able to pay,” said Mr Kimathi.
The striking nurses maintained that they would not relent until they receive their May pay.
Speaking to media in Chuka Town on Friday, the nurses’ union branch secretary Kenneth Micheni said that the workers would only go back to work when the last person gets his pay.
“We will not get back to work until the last person gets the money because last time they paid few of us and after getting back to duty they did not pay others,” said Mr Micheni.
In Marimanti Town in Tharaka South District ‘Mbunge ya Mwananchi’ lobby asked governor Samuel Ragwa to sack Health executive Magdalene Njeru for saying that she had no apologies for the salary delay.
