Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Susan Nakhumicha has revealed the date when the government plans to reach an agreement with the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KPMDU) to end the ongoing doctors’ strike.
Speaking on April 15 in Kajiado County, Nakhumicha said the strike is a result of inadequate finance in the National Treasury coffers.
The CS explained that the strike has taken a long time because the government is looking for a proper mechanism to address the demands made by KMPDU.
Nakhumicha said the ministry plans to reach an agreement with the doctors to end the strike anytime from April 16, 2024.
“What we do not want to do as a gov’t is to put a bandage on a wound without treating it. That is why we are taking our time,” Nakhumicha said.
“This situation is going to be put under control; if not tomorrow, in the next few days we are going to reach an agreement.”
Besides, Nakhumicha assured the public that the government is working to ensure an amicable and lasting solution is reached.
She urged the doctors to return to embrace negotiations and provide their counteroffer instead of continuing with the strike.
The CS stated that the government and the doctors both serve Kenyans who are directly impacted by the ongoing strikes.
“I want to ask the doctors to serve a common patient, I am asking of them that the government has extended an olive branch and given them an offer. It is up to them to come to the table, and we discuss their counteroffer,” Nakhumicha said.
Nakhumicha on Importance of SHIF
Nakhumicha maintained that the government must look for resources to meet KMPDU’s demands since the resources are not enough.
She explained that the new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) will allow the ministry to collect enough funds to prevent such occurrences in future.
“The crisis that we are in today is because resources are not infinite, resources have to be looked. Once you get those resources then you have to optimize on how you use them,” she explained.
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“That is why the Social Health Insurance Act is very important, it will enable us to collect resources and ensure that we buy drugs, pay doctors and buy equipment for our hospitals.”
Nakhumicha said the ministry is willing to engage the doctors’ union anytime to provide a solution to the crisis in the health docket.
“We are willing, if I leave here, and somebody tells me they (doctors’ union) are at my door, I will go so that we can find a solution, “she said.
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Ruto’s Statement to Doctors
The strike which has entered its 2nd month has paralyzed services in most public hospitals countrywide.
President William Ruto dismissed KMPDU’s demands stating that the government will not review its offer to the striking medical doctors and practitioners.Â
Ruto said the government is also constrained by a huge wage bill, adding that doctors must learn to live within the available means in the country.
The President maintained that the country is ready to pay intern doctors a stipend of Ksh70,000 for one year, while calling for an end to the strike.
“There will be no change of government stipend offer, the resources we have is only able to pay the interns Ksh70,000, and that they will be employed after one year,” said President Ruto.
There has been a back-and-forth in negotiations between KMPDU and the Health ministry over implementation of the 2017 CBA and the intern’s stipend.
