Will county governments recover allowances from nurses


Nurses have called off their strike only two days after the Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo instructed Migori, Machakos, Mombasa and Kwale counties to recover new allowances already paid to nurses.

The question is; will the counties be able to recover the illegal allowances as instructed?

Mrs Agnes Odhiambo had written to the counties asking them to comply with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) circular on nurses’ service allowances.

“County governments should not pay any allowances that are not approved by SRC,” the circular stated.

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.

SRC 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 ten 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 was available, sustainability was a key factor in the long term, adding that no county should pay the sought allowances using public funds.

The letter from Mrs Odhiambo said the SRC had not reviewed the nurses’ benefits and that any changes without the authority of the commission would be illegal.

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