Kiambu Governor William Kabogo has confirmed that 30 doctors from India will arrive in the country by the end of February, and be deployed in hospitals within Kiambu County.
Kabogo said he would not sit by and watch patients from his county die due to lack of doctors owing to the ongoing doctors’ strike.
The doctors’ strike on Friday entered its 61st day, pending negotiations between Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) and the government on implementing the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed between the government and the union in 2013.
However, in a discussion of the agreement in Parliament on February 1st this year, the Senate Health Committee termed the CBA as illegal.
45 county governments had early last year advertised for replacement of the striking doctors who had vowed that they would not return to work until the CBA is implemented.
The government had been said that it would replace the striking medics with foreign doctors from Cuba, the Philippines and India.
Meanwhile, Justice Hellen Wasilwa has yet again postponed her ruling on doctor’s union officials who were to be jailed today (Friday).
The court directed COTU, KNCHR and other parties to lead talks with a view of ending the doctor’s strike.
‘The intervention that I’m seeing today is a very welcoming, I believe there could be other interventions that could solve this problem and therefore I will still exercise my discretion. I will want to give this intervention a chance,” the court directed.
Justice Hellen Waliswa of the Labor Relations and Employment Court also asked the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labor, Salaries and Remuneration Commission, Federation of Kenya Employers, Council of governors, KMPDU and the Attorney General to be part of the talks.
Written by Ann Mukuru
-citizentv.co.ke
