500 nurses to be hired by Machakos county government amidst ongoing strike

Governor Wavinya Ndeti addressing the press at her offices in Machakos County on August 19, 2025.

The County Government of Machakos has announced that it would hire 500 nurses amidst the ongoing National Union of Nurses and Midwives strike.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by Governor Wavinya Ndeti, who raised issues with non-union members alongside nurses working in the county on probation.

“It has come to our attention that some nurses who are on probation and others not members of the union are participating in the strike. This is gross misconduct and won’t be tolerated,” Ndeti said.

Ndeti addressed the press at her White House offices following the healthcare stalemate in Machakos County, following the ongoing nurses strike.

She said such nurses were unnecessarily exposing themselves.

“The Department of Health is hereby directed to initiate the process of hiring 500 nurses and escalate the same the the County Public Service Board to advertise and recruit with immediate effect,” Ndeti said.

The county CEO said provision of accessible, reliable and affordable healthcare service for Machakos residents has been a critical area of focus in her administration.

She noted that healthcare in Machakos had enjoyed the lion’s share of budgetary allocation in the county’s physical budget.

“The Department of Health accounts for 53 per cent of the total county’s wage bill. The total recurrent county budget is Sh10.6 billion, out of which the health department alone takes Sh4.2 billion, translating to 39 per cent of the total county’s recurrent budget,” Ndeti said.

Ndeti said some of the demands tabled by the nurses arose from specific policy aspects pronounced by the national government, which have monetary implications but without commensurate resources for implementation.

The governor said when she learnt about the impending strike, she directed the county’s departments of health and public service, the Public Service Board, together with other senior county officials, to engage the union officials with a view to averting the healthcare crisis.

She said until August 7, when the nurses withdrew their services, numerous engagements were held between the nurses’ union officials and the county’s department of health, County Public Service Board, among other top officials from her administration.

“Remarkable progress was made in the deliberations, where six out of seven demands placed on the table were agreed upon. However, one contentious issue of promotion couldn’t be immediately resolved,” Ndeti said.

Ndeti said her government had, over the years, maintained cordial and constructive engagements with the Kenya Union of Nurses and Midwives, resulting in significant gains in their welfare and career progression.

She said as a result of the engagements in the last three years, 132 out of 442 healthcare workers her administration promoted in 2023 at a cost of Sh10.08million were nurses.

“In 2024, my government hired 57 nurses to address staff shortage and strengthen service delivery at a cost of Sh56million annually. In 2025, I hired and deployed a further 183 nurses to fill critical gaps and improve healthcare across the county for Sh180.4 million annually,” Ndeti said.

The governor noted that her administration, between February and May 2025, promoted 231 nurses, including those in the common cadre and others nearing retirement.

She said all the 231 nurses had been affected by historical career stagnation.

Ndeti said only nurses benefited from promotions for Sh37.1 million annually during that period.

“As we speak, an additional recruitment process is underway to employ 42 more nurses for Sh40.8 million annually. In the ongoing negotiations, my government has offered to promote nurses who have stagnated for more than seven years. These are historical problems,” Ndeti said.

She said some nurses had never been promoted for over 20 years.

“My government has offered to promote those who have stagnated for more than seven years. The remaining group is scheduled for promotion in the 2026/27 Financial year,” Ndeti added.

Ndeti said they had in 2025- 2026 Financial year started promotion of all county staff, not only nurses.

She said the strike was politically motivated.

“To politicians interfering with health systems in Machakos, it’s not Wavinya you are hurting. It’s the people of Machakos,” Ndeti said.

The governor told nurses and midwives to put the interests of the Machakos people first and give a chance to the dialogue to end the stalemate.

Ndeti also highlighted some of the strides the County Government of Machakos had made since she took over as the governor in 2022.