Embu doctors’ strike justified, MCAs say

The County Government of Embu has enough money to promote all medical doctors serving in the county and hire more to address staff shortage in hospitals, the county assembly has said.

According to the Budget and Appropriations Committee Chairman, Mavuria MCA Joseph Mwaniki, the county’s leadership had no reason to allow the planned strike by doctors to go on by dishonouring a return to work formula signed between the county and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, yet budgetary provisions to promote serving doctors and hire more had been made.

The MCA observed that the acrimony that has made doctors resort to industrial strife was entirely justified, adding that the county assembly had provided all monies needed to improve the medics’ terms of service and working conditions as per the return to work formula.

While questioning why the county government had reneged on the deal with medics, Mwaniki revealed that the health docket had a surplus of over Ksh15 million in the salaries kitty at the lapse of the 2015/2016 Financial Year in June.

The MCA opined that this amount, which was re-appropriated in a Supplementary Budget passed early November, was enough to promote all doctors in Embu and even hire more.

Mwaniki disclosed that at the end of the fiscal year, the office of the governor had a surplus of Ksh22,155,691 in the salaries vote, while the Education docket’s salaries were oversupplied by Ksh1,572,511. Infrastructure ministry salaries surplus was Ksh2,520, 983 and Ksh1,050,707 in the Trade, Tourism and Industrial Investments docket.

A further Ksh30,271,521 was oversupplied for salaries the Agriculture, Fisheries and Cooperatives ministry and an additional surplus of Ksh10, 278, 243 was reported for the Lands, Water, Environment and Natural Resources docket’s salaries.

The MCA maintains that the total salary surplus of Ksh83,060,786 would have been re-appropriated on the demands of doctors in the return to work formula on the request of the county executive.

Mwaniki said the Embu County health sector had for long been troubled by surmountable challenges due to lack of seriousness by senior personnel at the helm of the sensitive ministry.