Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua, on Sunday, April 12, announced his distaste at a letter issued by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), contesting his plan to offer special monetary allowances to health workers within his county, vowing to proceed with his plan regardless of the commission's directive.
Speaking during a press briefing at his Athi River office, Mavoko, the governor maintained that his decision to give county health workers a special allowance ranging from Ksh5,000 to Ksh20,000, was inspired by the recognition that we everything that could be done had to be done in order to win the war on Covid-19.
"In making the decision, we consulted within the county structures and also with other relevant stakeholders. We consulted with our elected leadership and also listened to the mood on the ground," his statement reads in part.
"Health workers are central to any health system. Even if we had state-of-the-art equipment, drugs and hospitals, they cannot function without the requisite professionals," he further stated.
"It’s in this spirit, that I have been taken aback by a circular addressed to the Council of Governors (CoG) by SRC advising against payment of these allowances. In my respectful opinion, this circular is not only in bad taste but also completely out of tune with the mood and best interest of Kenyans,'" he added.
The SRC, in its letter to the CoG, had questioned the legality regarding any monetary incentive set to be awarded to health workers.
"Whereas the commission is cognisant of the challenges faced by the health professionals in the fight against Covid-19, it is concerned that due process has to be followed in the introduction of any new allowances, by way of seeking advisory from the commission as required by law," reads a section of the letter addressed to the CoG chair Wycliffe Oparanya.
However, the governor made it clear it clear that he was well within his rights to reward the health employees who were on the frontline of the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.
"Machakos government will continue to provide allowances to our employees and especially our health workers and will even look for other ways of motivating them. I will not be cowed by letters from people who are not in touch with the reality on the ground. We are within the law and we will continue exercising our constitutional rights without fear or favour.
"If Machakos decides to pay its health workers and another county thinks otherwise, we are all free to proceed in our preferred direction," he vowed.
He further called on the country to re-examine the need for the commission in its entirety.
"We may need as a country to reconsider whether we need the Salaries and Remuneration Commission or whether it is just adding to the confusion and bureaucracy that is slowing down development in Kenya," he stated.
He also cited Article 159 (2) of the Constitution, which called for a look at the bigger picture of substantive justice and not procedural technicalities while making decisions.
"The mandate of SRC when it comes to public officers, as captured by the constitution is to advise and NOT IMPOSE. Standardization of salaries and allowances in the country is good but they should not be an imposition,
County governments as democratically elected governments should not be micro-managed by bureaucrats who have no mandate from the people," he reiterated.
