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Kidero defies Uhuru ‘directive’ to pay doctors who were on strike


Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero has vowed that his government will not pay doctors’ salaries for the time they were on strike, saying that such payments would only amount to a donation.

Addressing the media on Wednesday during a meeting between Nairobi County ODM aspirants and the Nairobi ODM Election Board at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi, Dr Kidero said that contractual laws must be followed and only the doctors who did not participate in the industrial action would get their salaries.

“Morally and contractually, you only get paid when you work and the people who worked will be paid. How do you get paid when you do not work? In science, work is equal to load, times distance covered,” said Dr Kidero.

COOPERATION NOT ORDERS

The governor added that county governments work with the national government through cooperation and not on orders and directives.

He was reacting to President Uhuru Kenyatta directive last Thursday while in speaking in Kiambu County that the doctors be paid their salaries for the three months they were on strike.

Governor Kidero’s stance is supported by Council of Governors who on Tuesday accused the president of putting them on a collision course with the doctors with his directive.

The council said governors do not have money to effect such a directive unless they got funds from other sectors.

EXPOSE COUNTIES TO AUDIT QUERIES

Council of Governors Health committee chair Jack Ranguma, who is also Kisumu County Governor, said that such payments would only expose counties to audit queries as they had agreed that only work done would be paid for.

Dr Kidero accused the national government of deliberately stalling the Integrated Financial Management and Information System, IFMIS, so that counties do not get money to pay salaries.

He claimed this was a calculated move to paint governors in bad light among their employees.

“Why is the system always collapsing only during the time we are supposed to pay our workers? Right now we cannot even access the funds yet they are at the Central Bank,” he said.

Meanwhile, Governor Kidero said Orange Democratic Movement was committed to a free, fair and credible primaries to prevent walk out of candidates after the exercise.

“The only way that we can be strong as a party and ensure we beat Jubilee, is to remain united even after the primaries. Let’s support each other,” said Dr Kidero.