Vihiga MP wants State to raise chiefs' salaries

Vihiga MP Yusuf Chanzu wants the Government to increase the salaries of chiefs and their assistants to be in harmony with that of police officers to boost the fight against insecurity.

Chanzu said the chiefs do the bulk of security work, but it was unfortunate that they are poorly remunerated and lack proper working structures and office space.

“Over the years, the salaries of the Administration Police and regular police officers have been enhanced so much, but chiefs and sub-chiefs remain sidelined. The chiefs, whom the APs work under, can no longer issue orders to them because they earn more,” Chanzu said.

The MP said chiefs and their assistants were paramount in curbing insecurity at the grassroots level yet they were not being recognised by the Government.

CHIEFS COMPLAINING

“Apart from harassing them when something goes amiss in their locations, the Government does nothing more to help the chiefs to make their operations better,” he said.

He was speaking after meeting chiefs and their assistants from Vihiga Constituency at the CDF offices Monday.

Chanzu said the Sh95 million allocated to CDF in the area this financial year will be used to boost education and security.

“Security and education are integral in the running of the country and that is why a bulk of the CDF money in Vihiga will be used to construct offices for the chiefs and their assistants as I lobby the national government for their promotion and welfare," said Chanzu

He further noted that some chiefs were complaining of mistreatment from the county government, which has overlooked them since the appointment of the sub-county and ward administrators.

FREE EDUCATION

The MP also asked head teachers in the region to make new fees structures clearly indicating the subsidy offered by the Government so that parents can know how much they have been helped pay.

He said it was wrong for principals not to help parents understand that the Government helps them in paying part of fees but rather just often send students home for fees.

“There are many parents who have been coming to me and saying that their children are often out of school due to school fees. Most of them do not even know that the Government pays for them some amount of money and only have to top up," he said.

He asked principals to be lenient to students as the Government was dedicated to seeing that most of its people acquire basic education. He said no student should be sent home because of the bursaries offered by both the national and the county governments.

The Government has always pledged free primary and secondary education, but the situation on the ground is different with many students dropping out of school for lack of fees.