I don’t have a solution for medical strikes, says Health CS nominee
By Maureen Kinyanjui |
Barasa acknowledged that the doctors' strike has been an ongoing challenge that requires a permanent solution.
Health Cabinet Secretary nominee Debra Mulongo Barasa has said she doesn't have a solution for the medical strikes.
Speaking during her vetting at Charter Hall at Parliament Buildings on Thursday, she noted that her predecessors had dealt with the strike differently.
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Barasa acknowledged that the doctors' strike has been an ongoing challenge that requires a permanent solution.
"I believe the long-term solutions are with us. So we need to work together with the unions, doctors, interns, and other stakeholders to come up with a solution. I don't have a solution, but what I'm saying is that we need to have a situational analysis and be able to develop action plans," she said.
On why she is suitable to succeed Susan Nakhumicha, Barasa, told the MPs that she is qualified and well-experienced in the health field.
"I am a qualified medical doctor with more than 18 years of medical expertise and a public health professional background. I am a wife, a mother, and a twin," she added.
After President William Ruto nominated Barasa for the position, she quickly paid Sh80,050 to the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council to settle a debt.
On March 12, a nationwide doctors' strike began, with at least 4,000 medics demanding higher salaries as part of a 2017 collective bargaining agreement, better working conditions, and the employment of intern doctors.
On May 6, 2024, the government and doctors' union officials signed a return-to-work formula at KICC, Nairobi, effectively ending a 56-day nationwide strike.
The agreement was inked at the end of the 48-hour deadline that the Employment and Labour Relations Court had given the government and striking doctors to finalise a return-to-work formula, failing which the court would have stepped in to hear and determine the matter for them.
As a result, the government pledged to settle doctors' salary arrears dating back to 2017 over the next two years through a conditional grant of Sh3.5 billion.
President William Ruto, according to Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, has ordered the clearing of the outstanding arrears in two installments, with the first tranche scheduled for July 1, 2024.
He stated, "With effect from July 1, 2024, we will conclude the settlement of the basic salary arrears by doctors employed by the county governments within two years."
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