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The Controller of Budget has instructed Migori, Machakos, Mombasa and Kwale counties to recover new allowances already paid to nurses.
Mrs Agnes Odhiambo has written to the counties asking them to comply with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission circular on nurses’ service allowances.
“County governments should not pay any allowances that are not approved by SRC,” the circular says.
The commission had earlier said that counties need about Sh3.5 billion every year to pay nurses’ service and uniform allowances, an amount it maintained was not sustainable.
Chairperson Lyn Mengich said the governors and the Treasury had confirmed they did not have money to pay the nurses.
“We have received confirmation from 10 counties that indeed they have a budget, which is an estimate of what they expect from the Treasury,” she said.
Ms Mengich said even if funding is available, sustainability is a key factor in the long term, adding that no county should pay the sought allowances using public funds.
The letter from Mrs Odhiambo says the SRC has not reviewed the nurses’ benefits and that any changes without the authority of the commission would be illegal.
“The office is aware that counties are paying enhanced allowances to nurses contrary to those approved by SRC. Payment of allowances without SRC advice is contrary to the law.
“Therefore, the purpose of this letter is to request that you do not pay any allowances to the nurses until approval is granted by SRC,” she says.
The nurses’ union, led by Secretary-General Seth Panyako, on Wednesday told Mrs Odhiambo that she was overstepping her mandate by purporting to tell counties how they should spend their money.
“The statement is insensitive and politically incorrect. County governments are independent and run their own budgets and should not be ruled by other stakeholders. We are reading mischief in these left and right statements.
“Why is everybody interested in talking about the nurses’ strike. We signed an agreement with the said county governments and it must be fulfilled. We don’t want to know by when but it must be. We are going to fight for our nurses,” he said.
This comes a day after the Health ministry and governors threatened to take disciplinary action against nurses who have defied the court and presidential orders to resume duty.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, they said nurses who would be dismissed for failure to resume work would not be rehired either by the national government or counties.
Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki and Council of Governors Chairman Wycliffe Oparanya said they would ensure the sacked nurses do not come back to work.
“It is hereby reiterated that the defiant nurses at both levels of government will face disciplinary action in accordance with existing government regulations,” the statement says.
To mitigate the impact of the strike, the two levels of government have started remedial stopgap measures, including hiring nurses on contract to ensure continued services.
“In the medium term we need to amend laws to provide recruitment of medical personnel on contract during emergencies,” the statement adds.
The striking nurses are demanding uniform and nursing service allowances, which they say they were promised.
Nurses earn a monthly service allowance of Sh20,000. They want it increased to Sh30,000 over three years from 2017.
The uniform allowance was raised to Sh10,000. So far, nurses in at least 15 counties are on strike.
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