The Kiambu County Government has refuted claims made by doctors regarding delayed remuneration, inadequate medical cover, stalled career advancement, and unsatisfactory working conditions.
This comes in response to concerns raised by the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists Dentists Union (KMPDU).
The union’s grievances had centred on persistent salary arrears and the failure to remit statutory deductions.
However, the county asserted in a statement that it has consistently paid salaries even when the National Treasury delayed in releasing funds to counties.
County Health Executive Elias Maina explained that whenever the National Treasury provided sufficient notice about delayed fund disbursements, the county government consistently mobilised resources to ensure timely salary payments.
“Kiambu County does not owe any salaries or allowances and all our 6,000 workers are waiting for their May salaries, which are currently being processed.”
The county further denied accusations of irregular staff transfers, clarifying that all such movements are carried out equitably and determined by operational staffing requirements.
He explained that the county’s adoption of the Human Resource Policy in June 2019 means employment terms allow staff to work anywhere within the county, emphasising that all transfers are procedural, conducted in good faith, and aim to address specific needs or gaps, adding that the dynamism in the sector demands frequent changes to address emerging issues.
Commenting on claims of political intimidation and a lack of respect for doctors’ professional opinions, Dr. Maina indicated that no formal grievances had been submitted to the county.
Regarding promotions, Dr. Maina rejected claims of stagnation, pointing to the county’s promotion of health workers in March 2023.
He also announced that the county had put in place a comprehensive insurance scheme offering both inpatient and outpatient coverage for doctors and their dependants.
He detailed the county’s commitment to promotions, noting that 777 healthcare workers were promoted in March 2023 at an annual cost of Sh100 million, an event he said was witnessed by KMPDU officials.
He added that the next cycle of promotions was currently underway.
In addition, Dr. Maina explained that doctors are compensated for overtime through various allowances and added that the county is actively easing their workload by recruiting additional healthcare workers.
He refuted allegations of unremitted union dues, explaining that deductions can only be processed for formally recognised union members.
He further elaborated that while statutory deductions were paid monthly, union dues are only deducted from union members, clarifying that the obstacle was that the membership of the union and agency agreements have not been formalised between the union and the County Government of Kiambu to enable legal deductions to be undertaken.
Dr. Maina asserted that salary delays in Kiambu had occurred twice, contrasting this with other counties where doctors worked for months without pay. He further confirmed that the county had cleared all salaries and remunerations and confirmed that all benefits were up to date.
To combat the acute doctor shortage, he explained that the county has been actively hiring staff across all levels, an initiative that aimed to guarantee all hospitals were sufficiently staffed with the human resources needed for effective and efficient healthcare delivery.
Dr. Maina reiterated that the county’s active recruitment efforts were a key strategy to bolster healthcare services.
“Our recent hires include 77 nurses and, prior to that, 24 clinical officers. We are also actively engaged in recruiting additional personnel, with interviews for shortlisted candidates presently underway.”
“We want to hire more medical personnel and as of May 27th, we received 4 medical officers in Kiambu Hospital and 7 medical officers in Thika to ensure that services are ongoing.”
He affirmed that the ongoing recruitment was central to ensuring all Kiambu County hospitals were adequately staffed to provide effective and efficient healthcare.
By Hellen Lunalo
