Moses Kuria Insists Govt Won't Pay Medical Interns KSh 206k: "Take It From Me"

• On Wednesday, April 24, Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria said it was unrealistic to pay medical interns KSh 206,000
• The outspoken CS accused the striking doctors of paying more attention to private clinics and neglecting public hospital
• Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists' Union (KMPDU) has been adamant that the government pays the interns as per the 2017 CBA

Amos Khaemba, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Nairobi - Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has ruled out medical interns earning a higher salary.

Why Moses Kuria opposes KSh 206k for interns

Speaking on KTN News on Wednesday, April 24, Kuria termed the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists' Union's (KMPDU) demand as unrealistic and impractical.

Kuria insisted that as the CS for Public Service, he would not authorise medical interns to be paid KSh 206,000.

The CS said he could not support the high pay for interns, claiming doctors pay more attention to private clinics.

"I will not pay interns KSh 206,000. Take it from me. As long as I am the minister for Public Service, nothing like that will happen. What will I tell other professionals who equally went to school? Then I do that for people who have been on strike, who work for two hours and go work for private clinics, who divert medicine from the hospital and take them to private clinics," Kuria said

The Public Service CS added that the government has a budget for doctors, not students.

"We have a budget for doctors but not for students, and that's another problem. As the Minister of Public Service, I will not allow the country to live in a lie," he added.

What action George Natembeya is taking against doctors

Meanwhile, Trans Nzoia governor George Natembeya opened up about his next plan of action if the ongoing strike by doctors persists.

During a meeting with all county staff, Natembeya revealed that the county government would withhold striking doctors' salaries.

The county boss said if the medics persist with their industrial action, he would have to seek alternatives, including from neighbouring countries.

Natembeya said he would quickly find doctors in Uganda, adding that he would only need to advertise the openings and let them apply.

What you need to know about doctors' strike

• The posting of interns laid the ground for the doctors' strike in late February 2024, for which the KMPDU blamed the national government for delays.
• The union later made good its strike threat with a solid 19-point grievance list, which they demanded the Ministry of Health to meet.
• Over thirty days later, the national government, through a Whole Nation Approach involving key players, is yet to strike a deal with the striking doctors.
• The bone of the contention happened to be the remuneration of the intern doctors, with the state arguing that it did not have the money to meet that particular demand.

Proofreading by Asher Omondi, current affairs journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.