Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has refuted reports that the government will tax the income of Kenyan nurses working in the United Kingdom.
Speaking on Monday, June 27, during a ceremony to flag off 19 nurses to the prestigious Oxford University Hospital, Kagwe affirmed that it was the nurses' mandate to decide on how to spend their income, pointing out that the government would not interfere.
He expressed hopes that the Kenyan nurses would emulate the success stories of past recruits who excelled from the bilateral agreement between Kenya and the UK government.
"May I say at this point that what these nurses and indeed all other nurses get from their employment in the UK is their income, The government is not going to collect any fee whatsoever from that income. As they say, what you do with your income, is absolutely up to you," he stated.
The CS stated that 13 out of the 19 nurses would take off to the UK on Tuesday, June 28, while the remaining six nurses would go in two weeks' time.
He also entailed that 80 more qualified nurses, who had passed the English proficiency test, were awaiting review and possible placement in other hospitals in the UK.
"This program is expected to benefit many families and contribute to the growth of our economy from the income that our healthcare ambassadors will be sending back home in terms of capital and investments," he noted.
CS Kagwe noted that the Ministry would complete the recruitment process in the UK before embarking on other countries.
"We have also received an offer for Kuwait but we want to be done with the UK process first. The fact that Kenya’s ambition is to become a healthcare hub can only happen if the recipients are open-minded about the opportunities," he pointed out.
Under the bilateral agreement, the UK seeks to recruit 20,000 nurses from Kenya in a bid to mitigate healthcare workers' shortage.
"For me, therefore, it is a moment of pride to have our people render lifesaving services to a people who less than a hundred years ago introduced modern medicine to us."
"The nurses we are flagging off today are well trained and have passed the test of English proficiency. All the candidates have the language ability to be productive in their destination country," Kagwe stated.
