CS Henry Rotich is right, there is no point in talking all the time

NAIROBI: I'm in total agreement with Treasury boss Henry Rotich that the Government cannot afford the time to engage in small talk with teachers every year; what the teachers need is money.

And I'm also in agreement with teachers' unions – it's hard to understand why they need several outfits to represent them when they have similar grievances, but I guess that's what multi-party democracy portends – that they cannot teach on empty stomachs.

The teachers are not exactly hungry; they say they can't afford to eat enough because the Government is taking away some of the benefits earned in the past, which is contrary to labour laws of the land.

For the record, even in the case of demotion, a worker's benefits cannot be reduced because that would mean they wouldn't be able to maintain a previous lifestyle.

But no teacher has been demoted; their allowances have simply not been topped up in the manner that had been negotiated; the union representatives add.

My suggestion is that teachers should return to class under one simple condition: that the Government makes an unreserved apology for lying to them as though they were little children.

At least the little ones have not taken to the streets to protest the delayed free laptops.