Nairobi News

Seth Panyako, the General Secretary of Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, lamented about President William Ruto changing into a different person after he clinched the presidency.

Speaking at a press conference, Mr Panyako said President Ruto is not the same man he used to sit down with and have conversations about how the country should be led while he was the deputy president.

“I don’t understand whether the current President is the one we used to sit in Karen and we discuss how the country should move forward, how the whole Administration has messed up the country. I do not believe it is the same William Samoei Ruto who I was sitting with when he was the deputy president, he has changed dramatically. He has become somebody else I don’t even understand myself.

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In fact, don’t believe I looked for votes for William because he is no longer the person I thought he is going to be. I wanted a president who is caring, I wanted a president who is listening, wanted a present who will put health workers and all workers in Kenya, all workers on the table and ask them what problem do you have as Kenyan workers, how can we move this country forward together as Kenyans but the President we have today is the one who is coming to make pronunciations,” began Mr Panyako.

He railed against the President for increasing the National Hospital Insurance Fund and National Social Security Fund premiums for employers and employees despite all civil servants already being covered in a pension scheme. He further faulted the President for failing to contact and consult stakeholders before he announced his new premium hikes.

“When you look at NSSF administrative structure, the administration of NSSF takes over 50% in administration and that is where you are saying you want us to add them 12% so that out of the 12%, six percent goes to Administration. There is no pension scheme in the world where administrative costs should go above two percent and NSSF is a thesis scheme. It means workers must be represented 50%, employers 50% percent,” continued Mr Panyako.

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He further went on to threaten to paralyze the government, beginning from State House- even as he called on lawmakers not to pass the Finance Bill 2023.

“We, therefore, as public servants, as civil servants reject this. We will paralyze the entire government and will paralyze from State House. We will close the water in State House, we’ll switch off electricity in State House and then we’ll make sure nothing goes on in this country. As workers we must be hard. We can no longer sit down, celebrate when we are being overtaxed. There is no country in the world that has prospered by taxing its public servants to the grave. When you over tax employers, you are simply chasing away investors. How, then, do you expect to create jobs when you are chasing out employers we have been taxed to the level of 56% but you already paid 30 when you buy anything?

Mr Panyako said the government had run out of ideas and all the economic advisers around the President are simply conveniences to him and have nothing substantial to advise him on if all they focus on is taxing Kenyans further. He further vowed to bring the fight against the proposed taxes to President Ruto’s doorstep as he called on Parliamentarians to shoot down the “draconian and archaic” Finance Bill 2023 or they too will face the wrath.