Teachers miss pay over order on wealth

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has withheld March and April salaries for some 3,500 teachers and secretariat staff for failing to declare their wealth on time.

Commission Secretary Nancy Macharia (pictured) says the employees did not declare their wealth within the stipulated December 31, 2019 deadline.

Teachers were expected to declare their 2017/2019 income, assets and liabilities through the TSC wealth declaration online portal. 

“Consequently, the commission has stopped the employees’ salaries for non–compliance from March and April 2020 payrolls,” said Dr Macharia in a circular dated April 14, 2020. 

In order to enhance efficiency, TSC introduced an online declaration portal to be used in the last exercise covering 2015-2017. The last declaration of wealth by the TSC staff was done in 2017.

Teachers and secretariat staff declare their wealth after every two years in line with Section 26 of the Public Officer Ethics Act, (POEA) 2003, Revised 2009.

“Every Public Officer shall, once every two years prescribed by section 27, submit to the responsible commission for the public officer a declaration of the income, assets and liabilities of himself, his spouse or spouses and his dependent children under the age of 18 years,” it states.

Under income, teachers are expected to state their salary and emoluments and income from investments.

Yesterday, Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) wrote to TSC asking for an extension of the wealth declaration deadline, citing coronavirus pandemic.

“It would be insensitive on the commission’s part to be punishing teachers during this pandemic when other government departments are issuing temporary reprieves to citizens and foreigners for non-compliance with certain protocols,” said Kuppet Secretary General Akelo Misori.