Underfunding of key sectors recipe for crises

Protests over budget deficits in some crucial sectors in 2012/2013 financial year could hamper performance and/or trigger a wave of industrial action.

Some of the sectors where there has been an outcry over underfunding include the Education and the Kenya Governance Justice Law Order Sector (GJLOS). Stakeholders complain that for many years this has been the norm.

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) national chairman Wilson Sossion told The Standard On Sunday that the union leadership will issue a strike notice next  month unless the Government provides additional budgetary allocations to meet its demands.

“The Ministry of Education should have been allocated Sh500 billion in the Sh1.4 trillion-budget read in Parliament to meet its obligations. Due to underfunding most of the teachers’ demands won’t be met,” said Sossion.

Teachers’ demands

Demands by Knut include five different allowances for teachers as per legal notice number 534 of 1997, responsibility allowances for head teachers, their deputies,  heads of departments, and recruitment of about 40,000 teachers for Early Childhood Development Centres and public schools.

“As per the budget, the Government is only employing 10,000 teachers while there are no funds set aside for the 1997 allowances and responsibility allowances for head teachers,” said Sossion.

Sossion further noted, “The three demands are not negotiable. The Government either meets its obligation or it be prepared for the mother of all strikes in July.”

Knut has also been backed up by its rival, the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), which has promised to send children home if the Government does not release free primary education funds and subsidise secondary school education as earlier agreed. The two unions on Wednesday warned that the grace period given to the Government to release the funds is running out.

Playing games

“We cannot continue to talk to the Government over serious matters only for us to be treated as if we are playing games,” noted Kuppet chairman Amboko Milemba.

Knut has dismissed claims by Assistant Education minister Ayiecho Olweny that the legal notice number 534 of 1997 was repealed in 2002. “The notice has never been repealed, it’s still legal. We are aware there were attempts to repeal it under gazette notice number 96 of 2002, but it was revoked by President Kibaki in 2003,” said Sossion.

At GJLOS, concerns have been raised over serious under-funding to constitutional commissions and offices. Another biggest loser was the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that was allocated Sh17.5 billion and not the Sh41.4 billion it had requested. The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) got only Sh100 million instead of the Sh700 million requested, whereas the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution received Sh110 million. The Human Rights and Equality Commission got Sh17 million.

Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the Independent Medico Legal Unit (IMLU) are among institutions that have protested over underfunding of the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) in the 2012/2013 budgetary allocations.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko told The Standard On Sunday the budgetary allocations were a drop in the ocean compared to programmes his office had lined-up as they seek full autonomy.

ODPP has a deficit of Sh2.19 billion since only Sh1.087 was allocated. “We cannot do much with it because it is way below what we had budgeted for,” Tobiko said.

IMLU Executive Director Peter Kiama had earlier noted underfunding would frustrate the reform agenda of ODPP, which is now mandated by the new Constitution to operate autonomously. “Adequate funds have to be provided to hire new professionals and well trained prosecutors so that the workload is reduced,” Kiama said.

LSK chairman Eric Mutua pointed out that underfunding of ODPP was a big blow to reforms and that the judiciary may also be affected since the two offices are co-related in the provision of justice.

The Judiciary has an allocation of Sh15.4 billion against the Sh16 billion it had applied for.