This archive report was first published on 4 October 2019.
Published on October 4, 2019, Vihiga County health workers have been left in the dark over their salaries for nearly five months. The County government has withheld their pay on claims that they were hired irregularly.
According to Governor Wilber Ottichilo, the recruitment process was marred by discrepancies in the number of staff positions advertised and those approved for recruitment. The County Public Service Board (CPSB) was requested to recruit 149 staff, but the number of health workers issued with employment letters exceeded the recommended.
"The Department of Health Services provided a payroll of recruited staff that revealed massive discrepancies in the number of staff positions advertised and those approved for recruitment," Ottichilo said. He added that this resulted in a sudden and huge increase in the wage bill beyond budgetary allocations and ceilings as provided for under the public finance laws.
As a result, the county government has not been able to process any payments for the newly recruited staff until an independent investigation into the recruitment exercise is concluded. Governor Ottichilo has urged the affected employees to exercise patience and cooperate by furnishing investigators with information that could help bring the matter to a speedy conclusion.
The Kenya National Union of Nurses Vihiga branch Secretary General Caleb Malomba has appealed to the county government to resolve the matter immediately, citing the frustration faced by county health services due to the lack of enough health officials.
