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Crisis in Kisumu health sector as strike by medics enters second week

ard
The health sector in Kisumu County is on its knees as the strike by doctors, nurses and clinical officers enters its the second week, with no solution in sight.
This year alone, the county’s health workers have downed their tools four times.
Most public hospitals are deserted, since residents are now forced to seek medical care at private hospitals.
The health workers have said they will not return to work stations until the county government honours the 2017 collective bargaining agreement.
Kenya National Union of N Nurses Kisumu branch Secretary Maurice Opetu said the county government was the Covid-19 crisis as an excuse to disregard their demands.
“Nobody should take advantage of Covid-19 because it came when we had already tabled our demands on issues that have affected us since June, 2019. We have shown goodwill and offered room for dialogue but the county government took us to court in December,” Mr Opetu said.
But Governor Anyang Nyong’o says the county government is not to blame for the salary delays.
In an interview with a local radio station, Prof Nyong’o said salary delays were not unique to Kisumu, but also happened in other counties.
“The payment of the health workers is the role of the national government through the National Treasury. If there are delays by the Controller of Budget, there is little we can do as county government,” he said.
He said it was not just health workers who are affected by the delays but other county employees as well.
However, Kisumu County Health Committee Chairman Vincent Jagongo told the Nation that the Executive has the option of making arrangements with banks to pay workers whenever they are delays.
“We advised the executive to make arrangements to get money from banks to sort out the persistent salary delays,” Mr Jagongo said.
In April, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission approved over Sh3 billion emergency allowances and benefits for Covid-19 frontline health care for three months, which the health workers say they have not been paid.
During a joint meeting between the health workers’ union and the county assembly’s Health and Labour committees, it was agreed that the workers would be paid the money by the end of June.

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