This archive report was first published on 13 August 2019.
Kenya is on the brink of a public service crisis as at least 20 counties face a cash crunch, with workers embarking on a go-slow to demand payment of their July salaries.
The crisis is a result of a debilitating standoff between the National Assembly and the Senate over the Division of Revenue Bill, which has left counties without the funds to pay their staff.
According to the Kenya County Government Workers Union (KCGWU), the counties affected by the crisis include Kitui, Machakos, Embu, Meru, Bungoma, Nakuru, Elgeyo-Marakwet, Siaya, Tharaka-Nithi, Isiolo, and Marsabit, among others.
The union has vowed to disrupt normal operations by staging pay parades and go-slows until their dues are fully paid.
With Parliament on recess, it is unclear how soon the grievances of the workers will be addressed.
On Monday, Council of Governors chairman Wycliffe Oparanya said there was nothing the governors could do to avert the strike, and that they would have to wait it out.
The Senate has proposed that counties should receive Sh335 billion from the Treasury to run their affairs, but the National Assembly says that figure should be trimmed down to Sh316 billion.
Governors are rooting for the higher figure, hence the stalemate.
Mr Oparanya lamented that “the Senate and the National Assembly have proceeded on recess, so there is nothing going on” as far as solving the impasse is concerned.
Counties that have paid their workers include Nairobi, Migori, Makueni, Trans-Nzoia, Kakamega, Kisii, Wajir, Nyamira, Nyandarua, Lamu, Kwale, and Tana River, among others.
Those that have pledged to pay salaries today are Kilifi, Busia, and Kirinyaga.
Joining KCGWU in solidarity were the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU), Union of Kenya Civil Servants, and the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN).
Clinical officers and laboratory technologists also threatened to withdraw their services in unity with the four giant unions.
On Monday, Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi appealed to the National Assembly and the Senate to have a round table discussion to resolve the issue.
He said, “the more we continue wrangling over revenue share, the more we hurt county governments”.
As the crisis deepens, workers in various counties have vowed to down their tools until their salaries are paid.
For instance, in Kisumu, more than 7,000 workers vowed to down their tools even as the county’s leadership scrambled to avert the industrial action.
County Secretary Joseph Ogutu said officials from the finance department had met their National Treasury counterparts to push for the release of money.
The county needs about Sh180 million to pay staff salaries.
However, in some counties, workers have already been paid, including Lamu and Nairobi.
Others, such as Kilifi and Busia, have pledged to pay their workers today.
