“Go And Pay Them,” Ruto Tells Leaders Backing Doctor’s Strike

“Go And Pay Them,” Ruto Tells Leaders Backing Doctor’s Strike

President William Ruto has taken issue with leaders who support the striking doctors in their demand for higher pay, among other issues. 

Services at over 50 public hospitals around the country have been halted for 35 days, leaving patients to suffer the brunt of the standoff between medics and the two levels of government. 

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists’ Union (KMPDU) requests, among other things, the resumption of the KSh 206,000 monthly compensation for interns under the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). 

However, Ruto has maintained the government’s position of insolvency, claiming that the salary bill was already excessive and that the doctors’ specific demand for remuneration would not be met soon. 

Speaking at the Wage Bill Conference in the Bomas of Kenya in Karen, Nairobi, on Wednesday, April 17, Ruto accused the government’s critics of playing populist politics at the expense of facts.

His attitude was that the government would not pay the doctors’ demands. On the contrary, he asked those who supported the medics to settle instead.

“The other day, we had the doctors’ challenge. We can hardly pay because we have said there are real issues we want to deal with,” said President Ruto.

“You have leaders including governors, saying they support the doctors’ strike, really? If you support the strike pay them the money they are asking for. We must stop chasing what is popular and go for what is right,” added Ruto.

In his first response to the physicians’ strike, the president expressed worry that public worker salaries were absorbing a significant portion of national revenue.

While the doctors’ union insisted on improved pay for its members, the president stated that his goal was to reduce the salary bill to less than 35% of the country’s revenue.

He stated that the government required money to fund growth and other areas, implying that the doctors’ request for increased pay would not be met given the state’s numerous responsibilities.

With the preceding, Ruto emphasized his administration’s determination to provide intern doctors a monthly stipend of KSh 70,000 while they seek employment.

However, doctors declined the offer, preferring to continue with the strike for as long as it took.

“Go And Pay Them,” Ruto Tells Leaders Backing Doctor’s Strike