NAIROBI, KENYA: The Government should conduct thorough biometric registration of employees in the health sector to rid it of ghost workers, National Nursing Association of Kenya chairman Jeremiah Maina has said.
Mr Maina said the sector was infiltrated by ghost workers during the economic stimulus programme conducted at constituency level in 2010.
He said despite the requirement to have 20 health workers in every constituency, the Ministry of Health only managed to get 5,000, with very few being genuinely trained health workers.
"The health sector is among major sectors facing a high number of ghost workers that require critical scrutiny. For instance, there are employees who have been employed in different organisations, county governments and other countries while others are dead but still receiving salaries," he said.
He was speaking at the 32nd annual peri-operative nurses' scientific conference in Nakuru.
On the opening of health facilities by county governments, Maina said the devolved units should ensure the facilities were well equipped and had a well-trained human resource.
POOR TERMS
He said it was unfortunate that despite the country facing a shortage of nurses and health workers, more than 620 of them had applied to go and work in Namibia among other countries due to poor terms of employment.
"There is need for improved terms of service by allocating more funds to the sector to motivate workers, including better salaries," he said.
There are only 176 trained peri-operative nurses in the country, with Nakuru County having only three.
Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua, who opened the conference, said the county intends to open an operational centre in each sub-county.