Clerk, do we have quorum? (The Clerk-at-the-Table consulted with the Speaker) Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes. (The Quorum Bell was rung) (Sen. M. Kajwang’ and Sen. Olekina walked into the Chamber) Order! Hon. Senators. Sen. Kajwang’ and Sen. Olekina, kindly take your seats. Take your seats please. Clerk, you may proceed to call the first Order.

Thank you, hon. Speaker. It is good to be back. I hope the learners have followed your communication, that we were on a short break for the last three or so weeks and that this is the beginning of the current part.

I got a message from Mr. Alfred Kalenga, who is the student council patron at Jabali Christian Schools, informing my office that they would be visiting today. They were also requesting for an opportunity to follow proceedings and maybe have a conversation with one or two Senators starting with Sen. Sifuna.

Honorouble Senators, I wish to report to the Senate that pursuant to Standing Order 46(3), (4), I have received the following Message from the Speaker of the National Assembly regarding the passage, by the National Assembly, of the Fisheries Management and Development Bill (National Assembly Bill No.29 of 2023).

The message dated Wednesday, 19th August, 2026 was received in the Office of the Clerk of the Senate on 20th August, 2026 when the Senate had proceeded for recess. It was subsequently circulated to all honorouble Senators vide a letter dated 21st August,

Mr. Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the Chairperson, Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights (JLAC), I beg to lay the following papers on the Table of the Senate, today, Tuesday, 8th September, 2026- (Several Senators held loud consultations)

Order, hon. Senators. Let the Senator be heard in silence.

Sen. Catherine Mumma.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to lay the following papers on the Table of the Senate today, Tuesday, 8th September, 2026.

Report of the Kenya Parliamentary Delegation to the 151st Assembly of the Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU) and related meetings held in Geneva, Switzerland from 19th to 23rd October, 2025.

Report of the Kenya Parliamentary Delegation to the 152nd Assembly of the Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU) and related meetings held in Istanbul, Turkey from 15th to 19th April, 2026. (Sen. Mumma laid the documents on the Table)

Next order. Chairperson, Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights.

Sen. Catherine Mumma.

Next Order. Senator for Machakos County, the hon. Kavindu Agnes.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53(1) to seek a statement from the Standing Committee on Education on the matters of national concern regarding delays in the recruitment and deployment of graduate teachers, stagnation of job groups, non-payment of acting allowances and delays in payment of retirement benefits of teachers across the country.

In the statement, the Committee should address the following-

The Senator from Bungoma County, Sen. Wakoli.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise pursuant to Standing Orders No.53(1) to seek a statement from the Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations on a matter of county-wide concern regarding the status of stalled and uncommmenced development projects in Turkana County.

In the statement, the committee should address the following-

Next is a statement by the Senator for Marsabit County, Hon. Mohamed Chute.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53(1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Roads, Transportation and Housing on a matter of countywide concern regarding the poor condition, maintenance and rehabilitation of several roads in Marsabit County.

Despite the national infrastructure programme, several roads remain dilapidated or nearly impassable, hindering movement of people, livestock and goods and limiting access to markets, schools, health facilities and security services. Notably, the Adan Chuqulisa-Malka Dimtu-Boru Harro Road suffers from incomplete works, while other critical roads such as Gof Choba-Qubi Kalo and Sora Adhi Junction-Did Adhi-Gar on Doti-Qubi Kalo Road require urgent rehabilitation.

Thank you, honourable Senators. I will allow comments--- (Interruption of Statements)

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Senator for Kitui, what is your point of order?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, pursuant to Standing Order No.37, I wish to move an Adjournment Motion for purposes of discussing an urgent matter of national importance namely the ongoing national strike by nurses and other medical practitioners across the country. (Several Hon. Senators stood up in their places)

Hon. Senators, having met the threshold pursuant to Standing Order No.37(5), of the Senate Standing Orders, I do direct that the Motion be moved at 5.00 p.m.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. (Resumption of Statements)

Hon. Senators, I will allow comments on the statements that have been sought for not more than 15. If you get an opportunity to speak, kindly do so for not more than three minutes.

Hon. Maanzo Daniel, you have the Floor.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to comment. I would like to comment on the statement by Sen. Kavindu. While we were on recess, there was a big debate on the issue of hiring of teachers. When the committee is looking into the issues raised in the statement, it will be important for issues relating to hiring of teachers to be brought forth so that the matters are open and transparent.

Under the Constitution, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is one of the independent bodies in the country which should be left to do its work just like other independent bodies such as the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and other independent commissions, without the influence or control by anyone. When Members of the National Assembly purport that they are the ones who transmit appointment letters--- (There was a technical hitch) Mr. Speaker, Sir, I did not get the warning. They purport that they are the ones who hire teachers. That must be investigated so that the TSC responds to that matter. We need to make sure that the TSC is empowered and does its work without being interfered with by any other body or person, so that there is fairness and non-discrimination as required by the Constitution.

Many teachers have graduated over the past 10 years but have not had an opportunity to work under the TSC or to be employed by the Government of Kenya. Some of them are serving in private schools hoping to be absorbed into the system. It is also important for the committee to establish how many teachers have graduated, how many have been hired and how many have not been hired so that the country knows. The issue of hiring of teachers should no longer be politicised.

On the statement regarding Marsabit County that was raised by Sen. Chute, I had an opportunity to go there with the Committee on National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity and Regional Integration and the issues raised are true. These are matters affecting the whole country including Makueni County.

Our work is to protect devolution. Some roads bodies operate at a national level. Roads should be devolved as required under the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution. That will ensure there are sufficient funds within the counties that should be controlled well to deal with the roads issue. Many counties, including Makueni, have not graded their roads. Remember road transport is crucial when it comes to healthcare and movement of goods. Therefore, it is a major issue that the Senate should deal with.

I thank you and support.

Next is the Senator for Nairobi City County, Hon. Edwin Sifuna.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, indeed, it has been quite an eventful recess. One of the most controversial discussions is the subject of the statement by Sen. Kavindu. I have repeatedly said that words of leaders in this country matter. In our respective positions, people take seriously things that come out of our mouths.

There is a respected leader in this country who publicly claimed that employment letters by the TSC are routinely sold by Members of Parliament (MPs). He said he is the

Proceed, Sen. Boni.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to add my voice to the important statement by the Senator for Machakos, Sen. Kavindu.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me one minute to thank you on behalf of all my colleagues for the support and outpouring of love when I lost my wife, Gloria Sekeiyan Khalwale. My children and my entire family received it with great appreciation. Without your support, I would have found it extremely difficult to go through those difficult days.

On the issue raised by Sen. Kavindu, I do not want to speak for this afternoon but for the people of western province. It is true that a prominent national leader from western region has told the people of this region that he receives employment letters for teachers and gives them to Members of Parliament from western region who then sell them for Kshs400,000. I urge the Committee, when scheduling these meetings, to invite most of us.

We want to put this national leader to task to disclose how many letters he gave to each Member of Parliament from western region and with whom he works with every weekend when distributing money to boda, tuk-tuk and mama mboga operators. The Kshs400,000 is equivalent to several trucks of harvested maize. People have sold their land to raise it.

They have been waiting for us to raise this matter. We are glad, now that the national leader has invited us to speak, we want to raise it. We want the list of people who have been conned so that our people can refuse to be led by such leaders.

Sen. Beatrice Ogola.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to comment on the statement by the Senator for Turkana on stalled development projects in Turkana County. This problem is not unique to Turkana County.

We approve budgets for counties in this House. The Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning has appeared in this House and stated that each year, the national Government disburses all monies due to county governments. Kenyans in the counties expect to receive what is due to them. When projects are awarded, it is because funds have been budgeted. I do not see why many projects should stall in the counties. This also allows me to comment on health.

Our people are suffering in all counties. Most county hospitals are not functional. In my own Ndhiwa Sub-County, the sub-county referral hospital has been physically closed. Nothing is happening there. Our people are suffering. I believe this is the picture in most health facilities in my county and other counties. County heads must be aware that some people are calling for health to be returned to the national Government. By allowing health centres to remain non-functional, they are proving those calls right.

We are saying that health must work. Our people decided that health should be devolved. Many people seeking services in public hospitals are unable to afford private care. It is unfair that they receive no services in public hospitals and they are continuously referred to private hospitals. In my sub-county, there is a private facility owned by an individual and it is unfortunate that most patients are referred there. (Sen. Ogola spoke off record)

Senator, you have one minute to conclude.

I keep asking myself how Government can refer the public to a private facility. That should not be the case. We must take a firm stand and address the state of our health facilities.

Sen. Ledama Olekina.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to comment on two statements. Let me begin with the statement by the distinguished Senator for Marsabit on dilapidated roads. The road to Maasai Mara, and I come from Narok, is critical. We generate almost Kshs6 billion from the Maasai Mara Game Reserve alone. The road from Maji Moto to Sekenani Gate is dilapidated. The contractor assigned to that national road has been working with wheelbarrows. It is embarrassing. You often find the contractor with only two or three wheelbarrows trying to repair the road.

This matter is very personal to me because I have raised it even with the Cabinet Secretary. I am glad he is coming tomorrow so that we can follow up. We support this Government fully and that is why in Parliament, I perform my oversight role over the Executive. In doing so, I expect KeNHA to do its work.

I request that when the committee is investigating the statement by Sen. Chute, it establishes the following: One, the name of the contractor. Two, the certificates paid by the KeNHA.

Proceed for one minute.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The County Public Accounts Committee and the Committee on Health must work hand in hand. We have to go to the counties and demystify the issue of devolution. Every county allocated about 30 per cent of its budget to health. So, why is it that our nurses are striking? What is going on? We are the ones who have failed and we should admit that. Instead of running around campaigning, we should wait and begin our campaigns next year. This year, we should do the work. Can we go and show the people of Kenya what they are paying us for?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, you will notice that this House will be empty this year because we will all be running to campaign. We will not do our job. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also rise to comment on the statement by Sen. Kavindu Muthama on the TSC, particularly on the issue of recruitment of teachers.

We have a worrying trend; the politicization of the public service, more so, the education sector. The education sector should be manned by people of the highest merit. In fact, the most qualified people in our education sector should be the ones running our early childhood education because that is where the most critical skills are built. However, we have seen a situation where recruitment of Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) teachers by the county public service boards is done on basis of voting patterns and ethnic considerations. We need to have a merit-based public service and the allegations of TSC letters being procured and being distributed to Members of Parliament, if found to be true, beneficiaries should be purged from the role of preparing our children. It is a very serious allegation that can have implications on the qualifications of children who want to join foreign universities or want to transit into other curricula.

The second threat in our security systems are the goons. A week or two weeks ago, we were treated to scenes from my home county, Homa Bay. We saw some very energetic young people and I do not know why the media decided to call them goons. Those are not goons, they are hustlers. The President told us that this is a Government for

You will have one minute to conclude your thoughts.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. What is happening in the health sector is no longer just a labour dispute. It is a matter that touches on the soul of this nation because we cannot be sleeping soundly when our women and children are dying. We support the President but he keeps saying that the Social Health Authority (SHA) is working yet there are no nurses in hospitals and that leaves us wondering. The architecture could be fine, but service is done at the last mile. How would SHA be working if we did not have nurses, pharmacists and laboratory technologists in the hospitals? Could it be that people are procuring services from waganga and herbalists?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is a national crisis and I know we will address it during the Adjournment Motion. This is perhaps time for us to establish a Health Service Commission for health workers in this Republic. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to support the statement by the Senator for Machakos County. However, we have to appreciate that under Article 237 of the Constitution, TSC is an independent body and they have competence and ability to recruit teachers in the country.

I know our colleagues, especially the Senator for Nairobi City County, want us to lose sight of what has happened so far. We have had President Jomo Kenyatta, President Moi, President Kibaki and even President Uhuru Kenyatta and none of them employed more than 120,000 teachers in this country. President Uhuru Kenyatta employed teachers 10,000. We will, therefore, not allow people who are myopic or who do not have agenda for this country to tell us that the employment of 120,000 teachers, which has never been done in the history of this country, can be wished away.

The education sector gets almost Kshs800 million. That is the highest budget allocated by Parliament. You will hear people say that Kshs40 billion has been given to State House but what they do not say is that President William Ruto does not allocate

You will have one minute.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was shocked by my neighbor, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, when he said that it was wrong for a national leader to allude that some people from Mulembe nation were getting access to employment. That is not an offense. In fact, the people of Mulembe nation should take note that the people opposing the hiring of their people are the Senator for Nairobi City County and the Senator for Kakamega County who both come from that region. They must be called out just like those leaders from Mount Kenya who are opposing the President's directive to ban hawkers in this country yet, the biggest beneficiaries of hawking are people from Mount Kenya. We must say the truth as it is.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Sen. Kisang, you may have the Floor.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. My comment is on the statement by the Senator for Turkana County. I do not know what is wrong with our governors. When a new governor takes over, all the projects that were initiated by the previous governors are stalled. These projects do not belong to a particular person. They belong to the people of the counties. That is why, when they get an ongoing project, they should continue with it just like the President did when he took over from Uhuru. For example, he ensured that the Maai Mahiu Road and many other roads across the country are funded and ongoing.

We ask these particular governors to ensure they finalise the projects that were started by their predecessors. Some of them are saying that they have not been given an approval by the Controller of Budget (CoB). There are processes that they are supposed

Sen. Agnes Muthama Kavindu, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. My comment is on the statement by the Senator for Turkana County on pending stalled projects. This is not a problem for Turkana County but for all counties. If you come to Machakos County, you will find that we have many stalled projects that were started by the previous and even the current governor. It makes you wonder why they cannot be completed because before a project is procured, there is a budget for it, approved by the CoB. Where then does this money go to?

I urge the Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations to move to counties and check on the many stalled projects. These are taxpayers' money lying there just getting wasted

On the issue of nurses and doctors in county hospitals; it is a pity that we are losing many children and mothers during delivery because they have nobody to attend to them. Something must be done. The Committee on Health should move with speed and act.

I also agree with the other Senators that we should have a commission for health workers that can take control and check on what is happening in our hospitals. Right now, many people going to hospitals are referred to private hospitals. There is no medication in our hospitals. People have to go and buy drugs from outside whenever they are prescribed for. It makes you wonder where the money that we fight for here everytime to go to the counties goes, if they cannot buy medicine for their citizens.

This SHA is really a big issue. Someone goes to the hospital after making a one- year payment for the SHA but still, they are prescribed for medication, which they buy outside the hospital. It is not working and the Government, together with the counties, must see what should be done so that if a person makes a one-year payment for SHA, they get treatment and medication so that they do not also---

Mr. Speaker, Sir, please add me a minute.

Give her one minute.

Our people are dying before their time because they cannot get treatment. According to our Constitution, everyone has a right to health. I wonder why our people are not getting proper medication.

Thank you.

The Senator for Kitui County, Hon. Wambua Enoch, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. My comment is on the statement by the Senator for Machakos County, Sen. Kavindu, in relation to the TSC and the issuance of letters of appointment. I will take a different trajectory from what I heard Sen. Cherarkey talk about. I call on the attention of this House that in the last Session of Parliament, I used to sit on the seat behind me while the then Senator for Bungoma County used to sit where I sit right now. He was my seatmate and I congratulate him - the former Senator for Bungoma, who is now the Speaker of the National Assembly - for blowing the whistle on TSC and the issuance of appointment letters through politicians. The situation is dire.

We may politicise the situation as we may, but the reality on the ground is very different. We have students who qualified and were issued with TSC numbers from as early as 2011 and 15 years down the line, they have not been absorbed by the TSC. They are on the line waiting for absorption because they have no access to politicians who have now become the agents for TSC in issuing appointment letters. The crisis deepens---

What is your point of order, Senator for Nandi County?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I am rising under Standing Order No. 105 and Article 237 on accuracy of facts. Is it in order for the distinguished Senator for Kitui County to state on record that politicians are either agents or employ teachers on behalf of TSC? Kenyans take what we say very seriously. Can he substantiate? If you check the HANSARD, that is what he said.

Under Standing Order No. 101, if he wants to discuss the Speaker of the National Assembly, he knows what to do. He must bring a substantive Motion. He cannot go and listen to stories being told in a rally and bring it to a serious House. Could he withdraw and apologise because we only know TSC as the constitutional body mandated by law to competitively recruit teachers in this country? There is no other person.

I yield back.

Sen. Enoch, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I noted that my time was running, so you will consider me.

From where I stand, I have nothing to substantiate or withdraw. Standing Order No. 101 is very clear; that I cannot discuss the personal character of the Speaker of any House in an adverse manner in this House. I have congratulated the Speaker of the National Assembly for being a whistleblower on the TSC. I have not brought the personal character of the Speaker of the National Assembly to disrepute.

Secondly, in the words of the Speaker of the National Assembly, he has taken politicians to State House and they have been issued with TSC letters. Those are not my words, they are his. I am talking about what the Senator for Machakos County is saying,

Sen. Essy Okenyuri, please, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I would like to comment on the statement by Sen. Kavindu. First, I commend the initiative to want to promote the 34,000 teachers that were advertised by the TSC. However, my concern is on transparency of the whole matter so that the exercise is balanced, so that the teachers who qualify and deserve those promotions are able to get them. So, while I generally support the bid to promote those teachers, I have concerns on transparency on the whole matter. We should see how the distribution is done so that we have a balance when promoting teachers who are qualified to be promoted.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Sen. Dullo, please, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I wish to support a statement by the Senator for Turkana County. If we sit here, in this House, and start narrating what is currently happening in the counties, I do not know how many books we are going to publish. However, unfortunately, my heart as a Senator for Isiolo County is broken as far as sitting in this House is concerned.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, out there in those counties, we are seen like we are toothless as far as the Senate is concerned. You can imagine a whole governor of a county refusing to appear before any committee of the House, yet we always sit here, allocate budgets and make sure that the money has gone to the ground.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have a case before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee where we discussed severally the Governor of Isiolo County having refused to appear before the Senate’s County Public Accounts Committee. We have issued a warrant of arrest. The Inspector-General of Police (IG) refused to arrest him. I do not know why. It is really frustrating because the Senator for Turkana County is asking for accountability on the projects that are supposed to be taken care of with regard to pending bills being paid and yet we have the office of the Auditor-General that always provides a report to this House. Governors are refusing to appear to account for the budget allocated to them, yet the Senate is just there. Whether they appear or not, no action is taken. It is really frustrating.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, today, the budget allocated in most of the counties to hospitals is the highest. However, if you go to our hospitals in those counties, you will find nothing, not even panadol or any paracetamol. Right now, I am from South C Hospital where we were told that the SHA is working.

Sen. Dullo, I will give you two more minutes to conclude your thoughts.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we visited Isiolo County with Sen. Cherarkey and others, where our mortuary is not working. A budget was allocated. Two years down the line, up to now, that mortuary is not working. The Governor refused to appear before the Senate Committee on Health. When a warrant of arrest was issued, he rushed to the court and got a court order.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, are we really helping Kenyans? Today, Isiolo County is bleeding because of cattle rustling. I had a discussion with security agencies to intervene. We are losing our people, yet this is the 21st Century. We are heading to elections. People are slaughtering each other yet no action is being taken. Really, where are we heading? It is really frustrating to be a leader in this country sometimes when you cannot solve problems of the people you represent. We need to do something as far as this House is concerned. We cannot just sit here and issue warrants of arrest, and summon this and that. Something has to be done. I wish I could come back to this House, but I am not interested. However, we must have teeth to bite in this House. That is the only way that we will help Kenyans.

I thank you.

Sen. Karen Nyamu. Please, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I would like to make comments on the welfare of teachers, a statement brought by the Senator for Machakos County, Sen. Kavindu.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to disagree with the general framing of that statement. It is not true that teachers have been completely abandoned by this administration because the numbers and the records of this administration towards teachers speak for themselves. We have done the largest recruitment in the history of this country. In 2025, we had already recruited 76,000 teachers with a promise to increase them to 100,000. As we speak today, the Government has recruited 110,000 teachers, something that should be lauded, even as we criticise the Government.

With regard to promotions, it is not true that the Government has abandoned teachers. We have seen some efforts towards this. In 2026, there were 25,000 teachers promoted competitively. As we speak, there are 13,000 teachers that have been slated for promotion in different categories, that is, Senior Teachers I and Senior Teachers II. It is

Sen. Cheruiyot, Senator Majority Leader, do you want to speak?

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker - just a quick comment.

I initially thought that the issue brought by Sen. Kavindu is a serious policy issue, which I thought I would benefit from the knowledge from my colleagues on how they would wish to handle the matter. However, the direction it has taken on the Floor has been cheapened and reduced to petty politics about pronouncements by another citizen who is not even a Member of this House.

“Mr. Speaker”, therefore, allow me to share my two cents on this particular matter.

My apologies, Madam Temporary Speaker. My apologies, Sen. Catherine. I did not notice the change of Chair. By the time I looked up, it was Speaker Kingi who was in the chair. My apologies. You are beautiful, fearfully and wonderfully made. There is no way you can be a mister.

Madam Temporary Speaker, on this matter, I agree with colleagues who are saying that previously, the rate of employment of teachers in the country was 5,000 teachers per financial year. President William Ruto, in the last four years, has multiplied that sixfold and taken that rate to 30,000 teachers per year. If that does not deserve commendation, I do not know what else---

Order, Senator! Sen. Kavindu and Sen. Cherarkey, you will listen in silence. Order, hon. Senators! Let us listen in silence, please.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I was saying this administration has actually grown the hiring rate of teachers by six times.

Sen. Cheruiyot, would you like to be informed by Sen. Wambua?

Madam Temporary Speaker, because Sen. Wambua is my friend, I may not agree with many of the things he says out there, but out of friendship, allow me to listen to him.

Proceed, Sen. Wambua.

Thank you, Majority Leader. Thank you for allowing me to inform you.

You know, I have listened to your submission, Majority Leader. I have two things. One, I would request that you desist from calling your colleagues or people in the opposition naïve. You know, it does not add value to what you want to communicate.

Secondly, if it is true that these people in the opposition have no plan and no agenda for this country, then Majority Leader, you should be very happy. Do not wake them up. Let them continue sleeping. Do not tell them that they do not know what they are doing. Encourage them to continue not knowing what they are doing. Then you can win the election.

In the meantime, stick to your lane; let the opposition stick to their lane, but we have a country to build. That is important. I thank you.

Madam Temporary Speaker, you know the sweetness of a football match is when you have a worthy competitor. Sometimes it gets boring when you are competing with people who cannot get organised. I would not wish to call my colleagues naïve, but I am trying to find the correct words to define people who, for example, visit markets on market days and speak to people as Kenyans would do. If Sen. Wambua shows up in Kapkatet Market in Kericho, people will turn up and say "this is our boy of the Senate.” They will want to listen.

Sen. Richard Onyonka.

Madam Temporary Speaker, thank you so much. I am quite happy to interrogate the matter that has been brought by my able leader, Sen. Kavindu Muthama. When Sen. Cherarkey was on this side, he also was kind of making the comments that we in the opposition do not even understand what our responsibilities are.

He believes that some of us, in fact, are so confused. Now, let me tell him, if you look at the Order Paper on what Sen. Kavindu Muthama has said, it is a request for a statement on the welfare challenges facing teachers across the country. Point number one, my brother, through you, Madam Temporary Speaker, when we talk of leadership next year, the month of September, the number of registered graduate teachers awaiting recruitment and deployment disaggregated by county and the measures being taken to clear the backlog, including the timelines for their recruitment and the year, will be provided. That is the first thing we want the Cabinet Secretary for Education to do. That is what you have failed to do.

Number two, the financial and administrative challenges which these teachers have been having, why they are not getting their promotions, why they are not getting their salaries, that will be done by September next year after we have taken over leadership. So, Hon. Cherarkey, also be optimistic about us. Do not think we are just joking. Chances are the Cabinet Secretary for Education will be Boni Khalwale.

Number three is on the number of teachers who have stagnated in the same position. We have said this over and over and over, Hon. Cherarkey, all you need to do in this case is just change the software. It will tell you when the teacher was employed. It will show the year of entry into the service. It will also show how many years this teacher has served. But it looks like those in Government find this mathematics a bit too difficult for them to comprehend.

I shall proceed. The number of teachers who are serving in administrative capacities and positions will be sorted out with the software. I do not know why you, people, find it so difficult to see. Our teachers have no morale. You cannot even pay them the money they used at the time they spent last time when they were marking exams. You see, even capitation is not going to the schools. It is so frustrating. You, people, are telling us - our colleagues, the brothers we love are telling us how we know nothing. Baba, tuna plan. Na plan ni “wantam”.

There is a point of order by Sen. Mandago.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I rise under Standing Order No.105 on Statement of Facts. It is not an issue to debate but is it in order for the Senator for Kisii to mislead this House and the country that capitation has not been sent to schools? I am a parent and also patronise schools such as Kapng’etuny High School. They have

No, no. You have given your point of order. Sen. Onyonka, provide evidence that capitation has not been sent to schools.

Madam Temporary Speaker, can he provide evidence that that they have sent the capitation?

It is you that has to provide evidence.

He is the one who is doubting my capacity to be honest and truthful on the Floor. Since he is saying I am the one who should account---

Order, Sen. Onyonka.

Teachers are not receiving Kshs14,000.

Sen. Onyonka, just undertake to provide the evidence rather than invert the responsibility to provide that evidence. I rule that you provide evidence that capitation has not gone to schools.

Madam Temporary Speaker, before you rule, sometimes when you use inverted evidence, it can clarify the issue. The Member is suggesting that he already has the facts that capitation has gone to the schools.

Sen. Onyonka, you provided the information that led him to rise on a point of order. He will want you to verify that information.

I can do that tomorrow, not right now.

That is okay. You can finalise.

My Chairperson of the Committee on Health, Sen. Mandago, why can we not have names of our teachers in the republic of Kenya, where they teach, how much they earn and the subjects they teach? Why is that difficult?

This is what is making people crazy. Why is it difficult for us to know how many teachers have been employed in this country for the last one year? People are exchanging letters in public. The Speaker of the National Assembly said he was dishing out letters. Why are we violating the Constitution and we are comfortable with it because it is beneficial to us? Teachers are not getting retirement benefits. (Interruption of Statements)

I would like to acknowledge the presence of a visiting delegation of six teachers and 62 learners from Matungulu Boys High School in Machakos County who are seated in the public gallery. The delegation is visiting the Senate for an academic exposition.

On behalf of the Senate and on my own behalf, I extend a warm welcome to the delegation and wish them a fruitful visit.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for this opportunity to welcome my people from Matungulu. Karibu sana to the Senate. I hope the deliberations have benefited you much.

Go back and study very hard because you have a bright future. The sky should be the limit for you. Just be obedient to your teachers and you can achieve a lot anywhere in this country and outside with the proper education.

Welcome and God bless you. I will meet you outside the Chamber.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker for the opportunity to - on behalf of the Senator for Nyeri County, Sen. Wamatinga who is away on parliamentary duties - welcome the students of Mahiga Girls Secondary School.

Nyeri borders Murang’a County, which I represent in the Senate. It is quite in order as a neighbour that I welcome these bright and beautiful girls. They are in the right place. Whatever they see here is what they should aspire to do in the future. The future is very bright. They only need to do as they have been told by the Senator for Machakos. Work hard, obey the teachers and most importantly, have a place for God in their hearts and daily pursuits.

If you allow me, I can comment on the statement by the Senator for--- (Resumption of Statements)

The time for Statements is over, but I will give just two minutes. I will also allow Sen. Ojienda and then Sen. Mandago and then we will close.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker for extending that kindness to me. I need to comment on the statement raised by the Senator for Machakos on the problems bedeviling teachers across the country.

I am a trained teacher who practiced in this profession for quite some time before the people of Murang’a were gracious to me and sent me here. Delays in recruitment is a very serious issue. It is being complicated by the fact that employment of teachers is being done badly by politicians. That means that a student who graduated several years ago may not have an opportunity to be employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) while a student-teacher who has just graduated but has political connection gets direct employment.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I wish to speak to the statement in similar terms to the Senator for Murang’a. However, I wish to emphasise a number of points. Number one, we must first and foremost acknowledge that it is in this era when President William Ruto has been able to get the TSC to employ about 100,000 teachers for the first time. We are now speaking to the state of teaching in this country. It is because of the transformation of the previous system that we had, that now we have junior school teachers, and many were employed in the last series. This has arisen out of the need to start the new framework but also out of the fact that the previous two--- (An hon. Senator spoke off record) Madam Temporary Speaker, I do not want to be informed. The previous two presidents---

What is your point of order, Sen. Khalwale?

Thank you. I rise under Standing Order No.105 on accuracy of facts.

Madam Temporary Speaker, you have heard--- (Sen. (Prof.) Tom Odhiambo Ojienda, SC stood in his place) Could you please yield? My good student in parliamentary procedures, you must yield. Two Senators cannot be on their feet at the same time.

Sen. Khalwale’s point of order is that he wants substantiation that 100,000 teachers have been employed. So, provide information on where these 100,000 were deployed. So, we will give Professor some time to substantiate this, unless you are able to substantiate now. (Sen. Maanzo spoke off record) Order, Sen. Maanzo.

Madam Temporary Speaker, can that be deferred to tomorrow to allow me to complete my speech?

That is okay.

Madam Temporary Speaker, it is common knowledge that the era of President Ruto and the Broad-Based Government has seen the deployment of close to 100,000 teachers. I will provide the data. I confirm that in my own county of Kisumu, the deployment of almost 500 teachers was undertaken during that period. I have the numbers and I can share them because I know that the Teachers Service Commission has done a commendable job in the past few months. You cannot compare the era of this President to the previous presidents on the deployment of teachers.

I also indicate that even on the question of capitation - capitation is released to schools in time under the tutelage and guidance of Cabinet Secretary Ogamba. It is an improvement that we have seen and we must speak to. Let us commend---

Sen. Ojienda, there is a point of order from Sen. Nyutu.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.105 on statement of facts. No less than the former Principal Secretary (PS) for Education, Belio Kipsang, said formally that capitation for secondary schools had been

Madam Temporary Speaker, Sen. Nyutu is a teacher of the---

You can use this.

I cannot. You are in the opposition and I am in the Broad-Based---

It is actually blood-based. (Hon. Senators spoke off record) DCP power. He has no microphone.

Sen. Ojienda, you can sit. Your point of order, Sen. Nyutu is about amounts of capitation which was not the substance of the statement that Sen. (Prof.) Ojienda made. So, I will rule you out of order for that point that you raised.

If I may complete my contribution to the statement.

Madam Temporary Speaker, it is not in doubt that the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), which is a union that is in charge of teachers at the Junior Secondary School (JSS) level has done well under the guidance of the current Secretary General, Akelo Misori, to negotiate and ensure that teachers get good remuneration, that the question of pension and gratuities upon retirement are paid in time, that other questions that touch on the welfare of teachers are addressed with the Teachers Service Commission. Gladly, I am aware that we now have a live recruitment process to appoint a substantive CEO at the Teachers Service Commission. The current CEO of the Commission has done extremely well and has shown us how important governance is at that institution.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I rise to make comments on the statements sought by the Senator for Machakos on the matters of teachers.

First, this administration has done extensively very well. I say this having served as a member of staff of the Teachers Service Commission. Look at the number of teachers that have been recruited vis-a-vis the number of students. I would like to inform this House that staffing of schools is not based on the number of teachers who have graduated from our colleges. Staffing in our institutions is based on the number of pupils available in class and their subjects. Therefore, as we speak today, the pupil-teacher ratio has greatly improved and the quality of education has been enhanced.

Sen. Boni Khalwale, I have to educate you because there seems to be a problem when the Senator for Kisii says the first Cabinet Secretary for Education will be Boni Khalwale in the next administration, which is not going to exist anyway. That clearly

What is your point of order, Sen. Wambua?

Madam Temporary Speaker, I have listened to Sen. Mandago and I have also listened to other Senators speaking and congratulating the TSC for a job well done. I want the Senator for Uasin Gishu and those other Senators to go on record and tell the people of Uasin Gishu that the process of recruitment of teachers does not matter for as long as a teacher is recruited. The Senator for Uasin Gishu is misleading his people and the people of this country that the TSC has done a good job simply because X number of teachers have been recruited and posted to schools. There is a process of recruitment and that is what is been questioned by Sen. Kavindu; that the outcome of any process is as important as the process.

Sen. Wambua, you are no longer addressing a point of order. You are contributing to the conversation. Proceed, Sen. Mandago.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for your protection. In fact, the Senator for Kitui is deliberately trying to not only mislead the House but even the people of Uasin Gishu who are very knowledgeable and aware of what this Government has done. There is nowhere in this statement the Senator for Machakos is questioning the recruitment process. She is asking about deployment, delays in recruitment and the number of teachers available in our schools.

I am saying the TSC has done well because teachers who have stagnated and who are supposed to serve as principals or deputy head teachers--- There is a running advert of 1,420 positions for promotion. What this administration is addressing is sustained non- promotion for the previous more than 10 or 15 years. I am saying that the Commission has done well. We have seen the promotions and not only promotions but the welfare of teachers has also been taken into consideration.

Through the Social Health Authority (SHA), teachers in this country are having an enhanced package. They are not restricted to the hospitals they are visiting. They now have the opportunity to visit any hospital of their choice courtesy of the SHA cover. The welfare of your workers is as important as the output of what they are going to give. That is why we are congratulating the TSC for rolling out very positive reforms that are going to enhance the welfare and performance of the teachers.

Madam Temporary Speaker, we must appreciate that the stagnation that has been there for the last 15 years cannot be addressed in three years. The TSC has more than 450,000 teachers and we must be realistic as a nation.

Sen. Madzayo---

Sen. Wambua, what is your point of order?

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I regret to interrupt my leader and friend but let it be known to him that I am the person elected by the people of Kitui to speak and represent them here. I understand Kitui better than he does. The Ithookwe Stadium he is talking about with a lot of support from the Majority Leader, I will remind them that the stadium is as incomplete as they left it. They should go back there and complete the stadium, then we can talk about a stadium.

The road that he is talking about stalled in November, 2023 by this administration. They have restarted the road, so, they have restarted what they stalled. This is important. When this administration came to office that road was under construction. When they came in, it was stopped for a number of months.

Sen. Wambua, are you on a point of order or a point of information?

It is a point of information.

You stood on a point of order and you have not raised a point of order. Just sit down, Sen. Wambua. If you had wanted to raise a point of information, you would have required to get the Speaker to grant you permission.

Sorry about that. Can I inform them?

I guess it is because retrospectively you have already informed him.

Sen. Madzayo, can you accept the retrospective information? The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Madzayo): Yes, he can inform me. I have no issues.

Thank you, Temporary Madam Speaker, and my leader for this opportunity. (Sen. Cheruiyot spoke off record) Protect me from the Majority Leader. He is shouting from a distance.

I would like to inform the Senator for Kilifi and my leader that the major road from Kibwezi-Mutomo-Kitui-Migwani all the way to Mbondoni was running under the Uhuru-Ruto administration, until after the elections in 2022. Works continued for a few months, then it stalled and the contractor left the site. The contractor returned this year.

Madam Temporary Speaker, nobody can tell me here that this administration is doing that road because that road was already ongoing and the contract was awarded and payments made. That is in Kitui. I know that road like the back of my hand.

I thank you.

Proceed, Sen. Madzayo. The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Madzayo): Bi. Spika wa Muda, kama tunavyoelewa, ikiwa ujenzi wa barabara hiyo unaendelea kwa wakati huu, hilo ni jambo nzuri kwa watu wa Kitui. Nakubaliana naye kwa hivyo sina shida juu ya hilo. Uzuri ni kwamba barabara hiyo inaendelea kujengwa wakati wa serikali iliyoko sasa hivi. (Sen. Wambua spoke off record) Bi. Spika wa Muda, naomba unikinge kwa sababu ya kuingiliwa na huyu ndugu yangu. Sehemu nyingi nchini Kenya hazikuwa na barabara.

Hon. Senators, I request that we respect by being silent or consult in low tones when a colleague is speaking.

Proceed, Sen. Madzayo. Please, add him one minute. The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Madzayo): Shukran sana, Bi. Spika wa Muda, kwa kutoa ilani hiyo kwa hawa ndugu zangu na kuongeza muda wangu.

Bi. Spika wa Muda, hii ni Kauli nzuri. Tukizingatia mambo ya ujenzi wa barabara, kuna sehemu nyingi nchini Kenya ambazo bado hazijafikiwa. Ikiwa uchumi unaimarika kwa sababu ya barabara, basi, Kilifi kama kaunti inahitaji serikali iingilie kati kwa kuwa katika kaunti zote 47 nchini Kenya, Kilifi bado haijafikisha asilimia ya barabara zilizotengenezwa.

Wizara ya Barabara na Uchukuzi inafaa kuona kwamba sehemu ambazo hazina barabara zinatengenezewa haraka iwezekanavyo ili kila mtu aweze kupata mgao wa maendeleo katika sehemu anayokaa. Nikisema hivyo hususan ninamanisha kwamba sehemu nyingine bado ziko nyuma. Kama nilivyosema hapo awali, kuna maeneo kama vile Kilifi ambapo serikali inahitajika kuweka mikakati mwafaka ya kutengeneza barabara ili iwe kama sehemu zingine nchini Kenya.

Hon. Senators, I have a Communication to make.

Hon. Senators, as you may note, Sen. Hamida Kibwana, MP, has sponsored a Motion on Mainstreaming a Framework for Clean Cooking in Kenya. The Senator has organised a breakfast meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, 9th September, 2026, to apprise Senators on the objects of the Motion and to deliberate on, inter alia, practical measures for accelerating transition to clean cooking in Kenya.

The Senator extends an invitation to all hon. Senators to the breakfast meeting scheduled to commence at 7.30 a.m. in the New Wing Restaurant, Parliament Buildings.

I thank you. Let us move on to the next Order.

Hon. Senators, I now request Sen. Wambua to move the Adjournment Motion.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion of Adjournment-

THAT pursuant to Standing Order No.37, the Senate do now adjourn to discuss a definite matter of national importance namely; the ongoing national strike by nurses and other medical practitioners across the country.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I wish to begin by saying that we are dealing with a matter of nurses, clinical officers and pharmacists who have gone on strike, which has reached a crisis level. It is no longer a matter for individual institutions to deal with, but a matter that must now capture the attention of the country. As a Senate, because health is a devolved function, we have a duty of care to get involved in this matter. It is not just for purposes of debate, but to bring this strike to an end, so that nurses and other medical practitioners may go back to work and provide services to our people.

What is at stake in this strike is the implementation of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that was signed almost 10 years ago. Besides the CBA, there are issues of poor working conditions for our medical practitioners and delayed salaries. The parties to this strike are the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Council of Governors (CoG) and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

The Senate Health Committee and the Senate as a whole have a responsibility to get involved and resolve this matter beyond discussions in boardrooms. The national Government is urging for conclusion of dialogue between the parties involved. The KNUN is accusing the national Government of failing to issue a no objection letter for the full implementation of the CBA which was signed in 2017.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has declared the strike a national crisis. As of this week, the strike has reached the 43rd day and is still counting. Yesterday, I saw the doctors issuing a notice that in seven days, if this matter is not resolved, they will also join the strike. If that happens, God forbid, then we will have complete paralysis in our public hospitals. I was in Kitui on Saturday where we unfortunately had an accident on the road between Ikutha and Kasala. Unfortunately, we lost five people and several others were injured. When those people were taken to the Ikutha Level 4 Hospital, they could not be attended to because there was no single nurse, clinician or pharmacist at work. They had to be referred to a mission hospital in Mutomo for treatment and quick attention.

Earlier today, I heard a colleague say that we must have a reversal of the situation where it can never be the national Government or public health institutions referring

Please, wind up in two minutes.

Thank you. The decision by the national Government to offload Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff to county governments with a wage bill of Kshs8 billion, without proper negotiations and understanding on how this will be processed, has also put county governments in a very awkward situation. Out of the addition that we have given of Kshs15 billion, Kshs8 billion has just been taken by a stroke of the pen to pay UHC staff. Perhaps what the national Government, the National Treasury and this Parliament should do is to look for ways of giving additional funds to county governments to be able first to absorb the UHC staff and also deal with issues of promotions for other cadres of the healthcare profession. It will be tricky for us to expect the county governments, with the meagre allocations we give them, to absorb the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff, deal with promotions and provision of drugs and equipment in hospitals and health facilities. All in all, the nurses, clinicians and pharmacists have a genuine and legitimate concern and people must listen to what they are saying. This matter must be resolved for the nurses to go back to hospitals and treat the patients.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I beg to move and ask Sen. Cherarkey to second.

Thank you, the Senator for Kitui County and incoming governor of Kitui County. I will be very brief because I am aware of Standing Order

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to speak on this very serious Adjournment Motion.

I will begin with the experience in Makueni County. This strike has been effective in every single public hospital in Makueni County.

Hon. Maanzo, allow me to notify the Senate that each speaker will have not more than five minutes.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. The clinical officers in Makueni County demonstrated today. Unfortunately, goons appeared and hit them with stones and sticks. Those goons are said to have been coming from Makindu. That is something that has never happened in Makueni County. It is sad to have the demonstration of nurses, clinical officers or anybody disrupted. I, therefore, want the incident that happened in Makueni County to be investigated properly because we do not want to bring the culture of goonism in Makueni. That attack was illegal. I know that it is something that has been promoted by some politicians, but it should be in the past.

This strike has now lasted 42 days and it seems that the Government or no one has been keen to sort out this matter. This CBA was signed in 2016/2017. It has been in existence for that long. The strike was called by the national body of the nurses and it has been effective in every single county in Kenya. It is, therefore, a national issue and I expected the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Hon. Duale, to do something, but I am surprised he has not been bothered. Twice or thrice, he has had functions related to health with the head of State. They have not commented or done very little to sort out this strike.

This is a national disaster which should be priority number one for the Government of Kenya, William Samoei Ruto, the President of the Republic of Kenya and Hon. Duale. You heard that a patient in a hospital in South B had a bill of Kshs 1.2

Sen. Chute, proceed.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. The issue of healthcare is not exclusively for the President; it is for each one of us. Let me start with the issue of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). That agreement is supposed to be handled in a conclusive manner. We have been hearing about CBAs for quite a long time. Our problem starts when you do not finalise it, but keep on postponing and selectively implementing it.

Secondly, if you look at what is happening in health care now, there are delays in payment of salaries, allowances and other benefits. Some families are struggling to a point of even not paying their loans.

The other very important issue is staff shortages. We have staff shortages in our health sector, which creates a lot of problems for our patients. For example, for hospitals in Marsabit County, we have a shortage of 100 nurses. How can we manage that? It is very difficult. Besides the issue of salaries and allowances, health workers in hospitals are a quarter in number of the standard requirement. This must be addressed.

There is this issue of working conditions. They are working under a situation where human beings cannot work. When we talk about health care, they also do not have enough hospital equipment to work with.

Madam Temporary Speaker, we also must address career progression. Some health workers in Marsabit County told me that they have stagnated in the same position

Sen. Beatrice Ogola, proceed.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for granting me the opportunity to contribute to this Motion.

Health services are collapsing in this country and when this happens, the average Kenyan who cannot seek health services in private hospitals, is endangered. This situation is affecting the Universal Health Coverage (UHC). If you are in the village like we have been, you see the misery that our people are going through. You see mothers with children walking up and down looking for basic services that they are entitled to.

As a country, do we ever even stop to think about what the young Kenyans being born in the last 40 days when hospitals, dispensaries and health centres have been closed will be suffering from in the future? There are vaccinations that our children should get when they are born, up to a certain age in their lives.

It means that as a country, we are closing our eyes to the obvious facts happening behind our doors; children are not getting the basic vaccinations that they should be getting and pregnant mothers are not attending antenatal clinics.

What does that portend for our country? That is why we are calling out county governments because a number of these health centres and dispensaries that we are talking about are under the purview of county governments and they are behaving as if nothing is happening.

I am here to categorically say that in my sub-county, the Sub-County Hospital in Ndhiwa Constituency that the constituents look up to has not been operational for a few days. I often meet mothers with their children walking to private clinics in the villages.

Madam Temporary Speaker, even as a country, do we know who is attending to our sick, the big percentage of the patients that we have? We are not able even to verify the skills that are there in those facilities where our people are going to. Health is a priority in this country and counties. We are calling upon the governors that they should

Okay, please, add her one minute.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I call upon the country that if there is something structurally not working, let us attend to it.

I have been to the chemotherapy facilities in most of these hospitals, and I see the many patients that we have that are being bailed out by SHA. Are we saying they are not benefiting from it? Let us pick what is not working and attend to it as a country. However, patients are getting their bills cleared up to some level through SHA. I cry for this country when we see the state of our health services.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker.

Sen. John Methu, please proceed.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to also weigh in on this important matter.

Allow me to start by saying that when you see some of us on the streets of this nation--- By the way, I have just come from Embakasi, and the police tried to stop our rally in a place called Mowlem. They were throwing teargas at us, but the people were very decided and chased away the police. This is because we just wanted to speak to the people and indeed we spoke to them. That is the right thing to do. Nobody is a tenant in Kenya. All of us are owners of this country. We live here by right.

When you see us in the streets, like where I have come from, saying that we want the current administration to go home and run for only one term, we are not just doing it because it is fashionable to say so, or because we think it is a very good slogan or whatever it is. We voted for Mr. William Ruto. Personally, I voted for him. As he sits in the State House today, he sits courtesy of my vote and many other people who voted for him. I no longer believe that, that was a good decision or he was a good choice.

Madam Temporary Speaker, for this simple reason, this is a very major national crisis that we are facing; the nurses being on strike in the nation for the 10th week now

You are done, Senator---

Give me one more minute.

Okay, give him one more minute.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. When we speak about harmonisation across the counties, it is only that we have applied and been lucky to be employed in such and such a county. However, in terms of qualifications, we expect remuneration and career progression to be the same. It cannot be that the career progression in Uasin Gishu County is better or the terms of service are better in Uasin Gishu County than they are in Nyandarua or any other county. We must try and harmonise, so that we encourage our medical practitioners to continue serving the people of Kenya.

I thank you.

Sen. Stewart Madzayo, please, procced.

The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Madzayo): Asante Bi. Spika wa Muda. Kwanza, ningetaka kumshukuru sana ndugu yetu kwa kuleta hii Hoja kuhusu afya ya watu, hususan mgomo unaoendelea hivi sasa.

Wale wauguzi, yaani nurses, ni watu muhimu sana katika nchi yetu ya Kenya. Ni jambo la kusikitisha kuona ya kwamba wale watu muhimu sana tunaowahitaji wakati tuko na shida, ndio wako na shida. Shirika hili la kitaifa la wauguzi nchini, yaani National Nurses Associatioin of Kenya (NNAK), waliweka sahihi katika mkataba ambayo hao Council of Governors (CoG) wenyewe waliweka sahihi kuanzia 2016. Hili ni jambo la aibu na la kusikitisha na linatakikana kukemewa na kila Mkenya. Ukishasikizana na mwenzako, akitengeneza upande wake, lazima na wewe utengeneze upande wako. Ni jambo la kusikitisha kuona kwamba wao walioweka sahihi katika ule mkataba, sijui wako na macho ya aina gani kule kwa CoG, kwa sababu ya kuenda kinyume ama kukiuka mkataba ambao walisema kuwa watawalipa hawa wauguzi.

Wauguzi ndio askari wetu wa kwanza. Mtu akiwa mgonjwa, kabla daktari hajafika hosptalini, anapimwa presha na vipimo vingine. Unaambiwa ulete hili na lile na unapimwa mambo mengi. Kabla ya daktari kusoma ile taarifa, atakuambia uendelee na hili na lile alafu apate hiyo repoti tena, halafu unarudi kwa hao wauguzi ambao ni nurses. Jambo la kustaajabisha ni kuwa, sisi tunawapuuza.

Mimi ningependa kuchukua muda mfupi. Ya kwanza, jambo la kusitikisha ni kuwa hivi sasa Wakenya wanakufa. Hatujui idadi lakini kila mahali nchini, Wakenya wanakufa bila kuhudumiwa wakiwa katika hospitali. Hatari ni kwamba madaktari pia wamesema kuwa wao watagoma baada ya siku saba. Tunaanza kufikiria, kama madaktari na nurses watatoka, ni nani atabaki katika hizo hospitali? Ni nani atakimbia kuenda hospitali kupata matibabu? Sio wote wanaweza kuenda katika zile hospitali kubwa kubwa. Ikiwa wale magavana wanaweza kuenda katika zile hospitali wasifikirie kila mtu katika Kenya anaweza kuenda katika zile hospitali. Kuna umuhumi hivi sasa kuingiliwa kati na wale watu ambao wanahusika hususan kamati yetu ya Afya inayoongozwa na ndugu yangu, Seneta Mandago, ambaye ni Chairman wangu, nikiwa kama mwanakamati,

Give him one minute. The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Madzayo): Nipatie mimi kama kiongozi dakika tatu. Dadangu nakuomba na nakusihi, najua una roho kubwa, nipatie dakika tatu hivi nimalizie.

Ningependa kumwambia ndugu yangu, Seneta Abass, kama kiongozi wa ugatuzi katika nchi hii. Ukiwa kama Mwenyekiti, unastahili uwe umewaita magavana wakueleze kwa nini hawawezi kukubali ule mkataba waliyoweka sahihi na sasa hawawezi kuutekeleza. Vile vile, ndugu yangu Seneta Mandago, tunatakikana tuite hawa watu waje watueleze kwa nini hawawezi kuwalipa hawa wauguzi. Vile tulituma Shilingi bilioni 428, pesa ambazo zinaweza kumaliza mgomo huu wote, dakika moja wakipitisha.

Nikiendelea, nataka kusema kwamba sote katika Kenya tuko na jukumu la kuona kuwa nurses have been paid. Ni lazima walipwe haki zao kulingana na mkataba waliotia sahihi, na kama kuna promotion ambayo itakuja in-between, iwekwe ndani, walipwe ridhaa zao kuanzia 2016, mpaka hivi tunavyoongea, wakati huu, miaka kumi baadaye -

Sen. Johnes Mwashushe Mwaruma

Asante, Bi Spika wa Muda, kwa fursa hii umenipa ili kuchangia Hoja ambayo imeletwa na Seneta wa Kitui kuhusu mgomo wa wauguzi.

Ni haki ya wauguzi ama nurses kuenda kwa mgomo kulingana na Katiba ili kupigania haki yao. Ni jambo la kushangaza kile kimya ambacho tunakiona kutokan kwa waajiri wao ambao ni serikali za kaunti. Waswahili wanasema kimya kingi kina mshindo mkuu. Kulikuwa na ukiukaji wa maelewano kati ya wauguzi na waajiri wao; mkataba wa maelewano ambao uliandikwa mwaka wa 2016. Huu mkataba ulikuwa unaangazia mambo ya mazingira ya kazi yakiwemo mishahara na marupurupu, vifaa vya kufanyia kazi, vyeo na kadhalika.

La kushangaza ni kwamba, miaka kumi baadaye, bado wauguzi hawajapata haki yao. Lazima magavana na tume za kuajiri wafanyikazi wa kaunti wakae na walivalie njuga hili suala, ili hali ya afya irudi vile ilivyotakikana. Wananchi, haswa maskini, wanateseka na kupitia madhila kwa sababu hali ya afya imedorora. Tunajaribu kama Seneti kupigania pesa nyingi ziende kwa gatuzi zetu na kuanzia mwaka wa 2023 mpaka saa hizi 2026, zaidi ya Shilingi bilioni 58 zimeongezwa kwa gatuzi zetu. Magavana na CoG wanastahili kuangalia ule mkataba wa maelewano kuongezea wauguzi marupurupu. La kuogopesha zaidi ni kwamba madaktari wamesema wataunga mkono mgomo huu.

Watu wanakufa kwa sababu ya kukosa matibabu. Watu wanaulizana kwa nini Mungu amefungua bingu na watu wanakufa? Ni kwa sababu hali ya afya imedorora. Kwa hivyo, ningependa kusema ya kwamba CoG na Waziri wa Afya wa kitaifa waangalie suala hili.

Pia, kuna wauguzi ambao wanaitwa UHC ambao wanatakikana kuajiriwa. Wamefanya kazi miaka sita kwa contract. Wanatakikana kuajiriwa. Lakini pesa zinazoenda kwa gatuzi zetu ambazo zinaitwa conditional grants ambazo magavana wamesema wakiajiri hao wauguzi wa UHC, na hizo conditional grants ziondolewe

Thank you, Madam temporary Speaker. I thank the Senator for Kitui for bringing up this matter, which is very urgent and important for this country today.

As we are aware, the nurses are a very important profession. They are frontline providers of services especially in hospitals. Whenever a doctor does something, it must end up with the nurse. Unfortunately, the situation they are working under is wanting. When we fail to get services from the nurses, then we will lose so many babies and other deaths because they are the people who do every job in that place.

As we are aware, we appreciate that since devolution, the number of nurses or health care providers in this country has increased tremendously. We appreciate every county. My county last time employed 250 nurses at a go. Wajir being a very vast area, 56,000 Square kilometers, nurses are in every corner of that county. Of course, they face a lot of challenges in terms of housing, water and work under very tiresome situations.

If you look at what is going on in--- Funds have not been released, they cannot get a salary. That has made nurses to strike. One other thing is lack of implementation of the CBA. These CBAs have many times been signed and agreed upon, but nothing has been done. I think the CoG are being non-committal and not serious.

It is high time that this House must take action. I cannot say that we must bring the services back to the national Government because as Chairperson of the Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations, I cannot support that. Of course, we must come up with a system, whether we are going to have a commission-like structure that takes care of the interest of all the health workers.

As a result of availability of the nurses, the counties have increased their own- source revenues through the Facility Improvement Funds (FIF) and that money is being used at the health centres and Level I and Level IV hospitals. I think that money can help to pay nurses their monies at the right time.

Nurses hardly get promoted or salary increment. They have stagnated for the last 10 years, while their colleagues in other cadres are moving up. It is high time the health workers should be given a special consideration. Since the strike started, I have seen the media reporting almost 75 deaths and almost 450 prenatal deaths. We cannot continue this way anymore. Therefore, it is high time - I will ask my colleague, the Chairperson of

Asante, Bi. Spika wa Muda, kwa kunipa fursa hii ili nichangie taarifa ya mgomo wa wahudumu wa hospitali uliwasilishwa katika Seneti na Seneta Wambua, Seneta wa Kitui.

Kwanza, ninaungana na wenzangu kwamba ni masikitiko makubwa kwamba leo ni zaidi ya siku 40 tangu hawa wauguzi waanze mgomo ilhali Serikali haijafanya jambo lolote kuumaliza mgomo huu. Vile vile, Baraza la Magavana (CoG) halijafanya jambo lolote kuumaliza mgomo huu. Leo adhuhuri kulikuwa na mkutano wa Summit ya baraza la magavana na Rais. Ni matumaini yetu kwamba labda wamelijadili suala hilo na watatoa mwongozo baadaye.

Ni aibu kwamba miaka 17 ya ugatuzi bado tuna changamoto kama hizi. Wauguzi wanagoma na hakuna jambo lolote ambalo linafanyika. Kama kuna matatizo, kuna taasisi nyingi ambazo zinaweza kusaidia kumaliza mizozo kama hii; kwa mfano, Kamati ya Afya ya Seneti ambayo inaongozwa na Gavana emeritus Jackson Mandago alias Jack Ma. Ana tajiriba kubwa ambayo anaweza kutumia kumalizia mgomo huo na wauguzi warudi kazini. Wananchi wanaopata shida hospitalini na nyumbani watapata afueni.

Mara nyingi mgomo ukitangazwa, kila mtu hunyamaza. Wizara ya Afya iko kimya. Wizara na taasisi za kaunti pia huwa kimya. Mgomo ukianza jambo la kwanza ni kutangaza mgomo ule kuwa haramu. Utasikia Waziri ametangaza mgomo kuwa haramu; Waziri wa Leba pia ambaye yeye ndiye anayetakikana kujaribu kuleta uwiano na maelewano baina ya wale wanaogoma na wale ambao wamekataa kutekeleza mikataba, yeye pia atatangaza kwamba mgomo ni haramu. Hii ni fauka ya kwamba Katiba yetu inampaa mfanyikazi haki ya kugoma iwapo maslahi yake ya kazi yanamgandamiza.

Ni lazima tuyaangalie upya haya majukumu ambayo yametwikwa hizi serikali zote za kaunti kwa sababu ni wazi na dhahiri shahiri kwamba wameshindwa kudhibiti migomo ya wauguzi, madaktari na CHPs mara kwa mara. Hii inachangia pakubwa kuzorota kwa huduma za afya katika kaunti zetu. Hata kama tuna lengo la kupata ile inatwa Universal Health, haiwezi kupatikana ikiwa maslahi ya wauguzi, madaktari na CHPs hayaangaliwi.

Juzi, kulikuwa na barua iliyoandikwa na Wizara ya Afya, ikiongozwa na Mheshimiwa Duale. Nakala ililetwa kwa Kamati ya Fedha ya Seneti; kwamba zile Shilingi Bilioni 8.9 zilikuwa zitolewe katika Conditional Allocation Act, zipelekwe kwenye Division of Revenue Act (DORA), wakati tulikuwa tushapitisha DORA na kumalizana na masuala yake, lakini walikuwa wanataka zirejeshwe huko ile waweze kuzitumia vile wanavyotaka. Sisi kama Bunge na Kamati tulisema kwamba pesa hizi ziwekwe mahsusi kuwalipia wale CHPs ama CHWs. Kwa hivyo, tunaona kwamba serikali inavuta nikuvute katika mambo hayapaswi.

Sen. Ledama.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, I have listened to all my colleagues contribute to this matter and will be a little unorthodox and differ with most of my colleagues because the biggest problem is this House, which has failed. We have

Sen. Mutinda, you are out of order because you are not the Speaker.

Senator, you have 30 seconds to conclude.

Madam Temporary Speaker, to end, there is this business where the national Government holds the national policy and sets up the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC). Governors are telling the President to stay away because healthcare is devolved. Each one of them is hiding from the problem and they are saying they cannot afford it.

It is time that we, in this House, took action. The only actions we can take are the following. Firstly, we need to amend Section 33 of the County Governments Act and hold governors accountable. Secondly, we need to scrutinise these budgets. We need to ask each county public service board to produce a list of pending promotions of nurses--- (Sen. Olekina’s microphone was switched off)

Proceed, Sen. Wamatinga.

Thank you so much, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to also contribute to this Motion. I take great exception in pointing out this: Indeed, Nyeri is one of the counties where there is no strike. I invite other governors and fellow Senators to come and benchmark. When you have leadership that is collaborative, centred on human resource and believes that human resource development is equal to capital development, such may not arise.

It is not in vain that the Governor of Nyeri County together with the County Assembly and me included sat down and agreed that we must make the leadership of Nyeri people-oriented and people-centred and most importantly, equalise human capital development with financial capital development. That is why Nyeri is the only county in Kenya where the strike is not going on because of the following reasons.

Firstly, we managed to promote all nurses and employed most of them on permanent and pensionable terms. For those who had stagnated for more than 15 years, using a collaborative approach of give and take, we promoted some even three or four grades above where they were. That is the only reason why despite some shortages of supplies, we do not have a strike of health workers in Nyeri.

We did not stop there. Again, Nyeri prides itself for being one of the counties that implemented the Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) Act and employed most, if not all ECDE teachers. That was possible because when you look at vertical and horizontal distribution of resources, it is not lost to us that county governments, as it has

Hon. Senators, there are seven of you lined up to speak. If you each take five minutes, only four will speak. I am, therefore, requesting that you speak for three minutes or less in order to give a chance to the other Senators.

Proceed, Sen. Kajwang’.

Madam Temporary Speaker, the folly of waiting longest and speaking the shortest.

In the short term, the strike needs to be resolved; 41 days is too long. There is a platform called Every Woman, Every Newborn, Everywhere (EWENE). This is a presidential initiative. It is patronized by the President.

It tells us that during the period of this strike, we have lost 500 children and lost 83 mothers. It only tracks the deaths of mothers and children. It does not track the deaths of other people; men and other women who walk into facilities. So, the number could be higher. Those are only deaths that have been reported in hospitals. The number could be higher. We cannot be a country in good conscience, sleeping every night, yet knowing that the poorest of the poor cannot access health services.

The issues are on the table. It is about the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). It is about the absorption of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers. I believe that the solutions are available because it is all about financing. Who decides on financing for county governments? It is the Senate. It is the reason we have insisted that counties should get at least Kshs450 billion to be able to meet this obligation.

I am hoping that this matter is going to be resolved because I believe that the President was supposed to have met the Council of Governors yesterday. It seems that

Sen. Mandago, what is your point of clarification?

Madam Temporary Speaker, can Sen. Kajwang’ clarify on the other professions that are not so bright compared to the health workers?

Was it a point of order or clarification?

Madam Temporary Speaker, I share a profession with Sen. Mandago but it is also on record that those who proceed to study medicine are the ones who score the highest grades in school. I said it is amongst the brightest including my profession and that of Sen. Mandago's.

It is possible to provide a coordinated uniform framework for managing health workers without transferring that function back to the national Government. I just want people to think outside the box. It is possible for us to set a mini health service commission so that in future we have---

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for the opportunity to speak to this very important Motion and I congratulate the Mover.

I want to begin where I always begin and that is the Constitution because we are not going to treat this cancer using painkillers. We are trying to prescribe painkillers. Just before the Constitution, we had the Report of the parliamentary select committee on the review of the revised Draft Constitution. Allow me to read a passage from this Report. The Report was given to the committee of experts on 29th January. I will read from paragraph 14.5 which is in chapter 15, and they called it the public service---

Within that section, it is reported that the parliamentary select committee made changes to the Draft Constitution by deleting parts four and five which provided for the establishment of the health service commission and the Kenya correctional services given that they could be adequately catered for in relevant Acts of Parliament. Basically, Parliament made an undertaking that they are removing those commissions from the Constitution and they are going to create an Act to provide for it. So, there is an obligation on Parliament to create the health service commission.

Having said that, I want to go to the distribution of functions in the Fourth Schedule. Part one, paragraph 23 tells us that there is national referral health facilities and paragraph 28 talks of health policy. The two remained with the national Government. In section two of part two, they gave us county health facilities and we have never been able to look at what the national referral health facilities are. We reduced them into national hospitals and that is where the problem is.

We should not just look at them in the question of service provision by somebody walking in hospital and getting treated. Instead, we should also look at also the medical officer. These doctors need continuous training. Can counties employ doctors, give them sabbatical leaves and will those doctors get the experience they need moving around?

The national Government needs to set up national referral health facilities and they are the ones that provide clinical care. As a matter of fact, clinical medicine was never devolved. What was devolved was preventive medicine, primary health care. This idea of giving governors hospitals to run and provide clinical healthcare can never be resolved; it will always create these problems. Counties cannot employ doctors or provide clinical medicine. Let us be faithful to the text of the Constitution.

National referral facilities are not national hospitals; they include clinics on the ground that are run by the national Government through which people are referred and moved around so that centres of excellence are established. For example, we had the Centre of Excellence on Skin Disease in Alupe in Busia, a Level 4 hospital; the Centre of Excellence in Mental Health Care at Mathari, a Level 4 hospital and the Spinal Cord at Hurlingam, a Level 4 hospital. We destroyed that network of hospitals, that is why this problem is coming in.

Let us go back to the text of the Constitution and ask ourselves if clinical medicine was really devolved. If we get an answer to that, then we shall drain the swamp and stop trying to buy mosquito nets to protect ourselves from the mosquitoes that hatch in that swamp.

Sen. Mutinda, proceed.

Thank you so much, Madam Temporary Speaker. I will start by appreciating my brother for this timely Motion. As a Senator and a Kenyan who has had an opportunity to be in the medical space and also as someone who is currently serving in the Senate Committee on Health, this is an issue that should not be where it is.

Nurses do really play a very critical role in all the health sector that cut across. However, the question is; is it the responsibility of the national Government or the county government? Where is the gap? I agree with my colleagues when they state clearly that it is this House and in the other Committee on Finance and Budget where I serve, that we ensure the 47 counties get their funding. Each and every financial year, we strive to ensure that we add more funds to counties and a bigger percentage of this allocation actually goes to the health sector.

Health is devolved and there is a CBA out there that is bringing these issues. Today, it is nurses, tomorrow, it will be pharmacists and the other day, it will be ambulance drivers. This is a matter that county governments should open their doors for a candid and conclusive discussion. This is not just a political discussion where the President is expected to just wake up and say to let that CBA be adhered to. What are the issues that the governors are raising?

When the issue of the UHC came about; I am happy that most times when the strike was on and they came to our gates, our Chairperson for Health, Sen. Mandago, led us and we were able to receive memoranda. Today, as we speak, I am very happy that I came to the Floor of this House and stated categorically that we have come to the end of this matter of UHC in terms of the arrears and all the matters that they had raised. All that is needed is for the county governments to give them permanent and pensionable (PnP) employment terms once and for all.

As I conclude so that my colleagues can also put a word into this very critical Motion, the matters of UHC are matters that even the President has pronounced himself on and said that the governors should ensure that they give UHC workers PnP employment terms. Monies are there; as a Committee and as a House, we have ensured that funds are there.

On the issue of our nurses, they play a critical role. Let that discussion be on table by the experts and the CoG because health is devolved. There is nothing that the national Government is expected to do. This is a discussion that is trickling down to our governors. So, can the governors take the lead and bring this to a conclusion? It is possible and doable. We have done it. The health sector cuts across different professionals. We cannot have one profession strike today, tomorrow we have a different sector, and the day after we have a different sector. Let this matter come to an end.

I submit, Madam Temporary Speaker.

Sen. Omogeni, please proceed.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. Speaking as somebody who has witnessed how poor health care services can bring suffering to our people, I have no doubt that if I was sitting as a president of the Republic of Kenya, this is a matter that would be of concern to me. You cannot be a president of a country with the figures that were read by Sen. Kajwang’, where Mothers and children are dying because nurses are on strike, and you say nothing, as if you have not heard or seen the suffering of your people. It cannot be.

When the President took oath of office, he swore to protect and uphold the dignity of Kenyans. You cannot say that Kenyans are living a dignified life when a mother who goes to hospital to give birth dies because our nurses are on strike, and the Government of the day has failed to solve problems facing nurses in terms of remuneration and other safety issues at their workplace.

Madam Temporary Speaker, if there is a debate between whether it is governors or the national Government that should take charge of the health of our people, the President can even bring an amendment to the Constitution in this House, we deal with it and go to the referendum. However, our people need a country that can take care of the health of its people.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I spoke in this House sometime back on this issue of the Social Health Authority (SHA) and raised a concern of a pastor called Pastor Nyabuto Mochoge, who was struggling to get SHA pay his bills in India, where he was admitted at Apollo Hospital. Somebody across shouted and said, that is just one life of one Kenyan. As I speak today, that pastor passed away last week. The family is organising to do a fundraising to raise Kshs2.7 million, because Apollo Hospital has refused to accept undertakings from SHA because SHA is not paying its bills in India. We are the people's representatives. We must tell the President that these things are causing suffering to our people.

If you do not have the facilities to treat cancer patients, they go to India. You make pronouncements in public, giving undertaking that SHA will take Kenyans to India, yet when they go to India, they are abandoned. You cannot pretend to say that, that is a working government. Where is that family going to raise Kshs2.7 million to settle that bill from? We must tell the President that he must do something. You cannot tell Kenyans that public hospitals are not working, and they should go to private hospitals. SHA has got limitations, and I wish Beatrice Ogola was here. I could give her figures of Kenyans who go to hospital, and they are told the system is not working in Nairobi. Consequently, they resort to going to private hospitals. When you go to a private hospital, you need an insurance cover, and SHA is not an alternative.

Let us not be dishonest. The people who are suffering are people who have elected us to this House. We cannot just sit back, yet for 41 days, nurses are on strike. The President of the day was today in a Summit meeting with the Council of Governors and that issue was not a priority. We did not even hear any communication from the Summit telling us what solutions they came up with today to solve the nurses' strike.

Nurses who have been trained, specialists, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses from the Kenyatta National Hospital resign week-in, week-out to go and work in other countries because they are getting better remuneration there. Why can we not agree to

Sen. Nyamu.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity.

I want to commend this House for taking responsibility and addressing this issue that affects the whole country. We need to deal with this issue and treat it with the urgency it deserves because we are no longer discussing whether we can fall into a health crisis; we are already in one. We need to ask ourselves; how did we even allow ourselves to get here? All these issues are not new.

We are talking about a 2017 return-to-work formula, This CBAs was signed several years ago. This is a situation that could have been averted. As a country, it is time we looked at the cost of solving the issues or getting into negotiations and implementing

versus delaying the implementation because eventually, the Government is going to sort this issue out. A lot of what has already happened could have been avoided. We do not have to wait until we are in a crisis, until we are losing lives, because it defeats the purpose of the universal health coverage that the President is so passionate about. As it were, this is a human rights issue.

The Kenyan National Human Rights Commission has already addressed the issue as a human rights issue and also as a human rights and a constitutional crisis, for that matter. In this House, we should not just be addressing the issue of negotiations. We have to ask very specific questions.

Who is responsible? What is the cost?

Sen. Nyamu, just give me a second. Hon. Senators, pursuant to Section 34(2) (a) of our Standing Orders, I wish to extend this session by a further ten minutes to enable the remaining two Senators to speak.

Proceed.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. Another aspect that we have to look at as a House is that we have 47 counties managing their health sector in 47 different ways. We need to explore a situation where we have minimum standards across the board, so that we do not come before this House and laud the counties where health workers are not on strike.

If we standardised how we handled the healthcare workers, we would have fewer strikes. We would have a uniform situation as we have in Nyeri and Homa Bay. So, that is an area that we really need to look at, so that we avoid future industrial actions.

With those few remarks, I support.

Sen. Mandago.

Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Let me respond.

Can I donate one minute to my Chair in the Health Committee?

That is fine.

If we want these matters to be resolved, continue insisting that health is devolved to maintain health at the county level, number one, let health workers in every county have their union to discuss with their employee. Number two, there is no lack of standard. If you look at the responsibility that was left to the Public Service Commission, it is to provide guidelines and policy on standards. Job groups have not changed in every county. County Public Service boards still follow the same scheme of service for nurses across.

We cannot speak as if devolution has done nothing. If you look at the number of health workers from when devolution came into being, it is the time that we have recruited the highest number of health workers in the country. It is the first time we have doctors in places such as Wajir, Mandera, Turkana and other places. There is significant progress that has been made in health. The President has also made some significant progress. When this administration came into office, intern doctors were not being given internships. Today, that is a thing of the past. Interns of all cadres are being deployed and paid.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. It was important for me. I really wanted to hear the words of my Chairperson of the Committee on Health. I echo the same.

The ongoing strike, seriously, is deeply concerning and requires urgent attention. I feel strongly that at this hour, this year, we do not have the capacity to do the work that we need to do. I mean, it should have been matters of the past. Nurses work in extremely difficult conditions. I am wondering why they should be treated this way. They are the backbone of Kenya's public health system. The grievances and concerns should be implemented. Negotiated agreements should have been done way before. As a member of the Committee on Health, we always take the heat. So, it is never easy for the Chair. Each time we try to nurse the strikes, so that at least we bring them down.

I urge the Ministry of Health to establish an urgent multi-stakeholder engagement on this issue, such as the SRC and other relevant actors with clear timelines for resolving each outstanding issue. Number two, the government should put in place immediate contingency measures to ensure that the emergencies, the maternity, neonatal and other critical services are not disrupted during this negotiation.

You can imagine nurses who are working at the ICU or taking care of infants and the rest, it is never easy. Therefore, I hope that as these matters go on, such critical emergencies should not be disrupted. We need our nurses, actually, we more or less appeal seriously to the Government and county governments to think of the lives of Kenyans. Let us put the lives of Kenyans first and work on this dispute urgently. We cannot allow Kenyans to become casualties of this issue. The Senate must stand on this side.

Hon. Senators, having concluded the business for which I extended the hours of the sitting pursuant to Standing Order