CoG tells county boards to ignore Health Ministry directive to absorb UHC workers

The Council of Governors (CoG) has directed County Public Service Boards to ignore the Ministry of Health directive to absorb UHC workers.

The CoG Chairman, Ahmed Abdullahi told the respective County Public Service Boards to ignore the letters from the Principal Secretaries of Health and Public Service directing them to place the UHC workers in their payrolls on permanent and pensionable terms.

Speaking during the Annual General Meeting of the County Pension Fund at a hotel in Isiolo town on Thursday, Mr Abdullahi, who is also the Wajir Governor said that the two PSs have no legal mandate to direct the county boards to place the health workers in their payrolls under the current circumstances.

The CoG chairperson who addressed the media on the sidelines of the AGM, explained that the Sh8.9 billion allocated to the Counties for UHC workers was supposed to cover one financial year and the 47 devolved units would not absorb the UHC workers unless the question of where the money to pay them in subsequent years would come from is addressed according to the law.

The Governor accused the Health Ministry of politicizing the issue of UHC workers, saying that the law must be followed to the letter when it comes to employing workers on permanent and pensionable terms.

"The Ministry (of Health) is inciting the workers to strike. That is sabotaging the county governments and yet it has not done its part of the agreement," he said.

Abdullahi called on the national government to come up with a funding model, even if it means amending the law to enable the county governments to get the money to pay the UHC workers.

He said the Act can be amended to add money for the counties under the equitable share of revenue to cater for the UHC workers.

"The PSs cannot write to the County Public Service Board to give them instructions that have no basis in law. You (the board) should disregard the instructions," said the chairman.

Abdullahi said the counties have no problem with the doctors adding that from next month they would be paid as agreed with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU).

The more than 7, 500 UHC workers under six unions are on strike and have accused the county governments of failing to confirm them on permanent and pensionable terms.

Under the Health Sector Caucus, they accused the governors of failing to honour agreements reached after months of negotiations, forcing them to resort to nationwide strike.

Through their chairperson Peterson Wachira, the group said industrial action was triggered by failure to implement the transition of UHC workers and honour return-to-work agreements signed after an earlier strike.

It's also a blame game from the Ministry of Health, with Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale asking the county governments to absorb the health workers.