Salary delays demoralise and demotivate county employees, and hamper services, the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee has said.
“It is discouraging that people can work and fail to get their salary on time. My committee is going to expedite talks with the National Treasury to ensure issues of delayed fund remittance are fixed,” PAC chairman Opiyo Wandayi said.
He spoke on Wednesday during a visit to Homa Bay. The team inspected the Health department’s account books for 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Wandayi said he sees no reason why Treasury should delay remitting funds to the counties. “Employees for both county and national governments should be treated equally since they deliver services to the same Kenyans,” he said.
Wandayi said many county employees feel discriminated against as they have to issue threats in order to get paid.
He was accompanied by Molo MP Kuria Kimani, among other committee members.
Wandayi said inadequate labour force is a major challenge that affects healthcare services in Homa Bay.
“The committee realised that Homa Bay referral and Rachuonyo level 4 hospitals are just example of what many major county hospitals nationally faced in terms of shortage of personnel to operate a number of medical machines,” he said.
Deputy Governor Hamilton Orata who received the committee members at the county said revenue collected by the county government is not enough to cater for salaries.
He said a number of county employees were seconded from the national government. “Homa Bay is one of the counties where almost all cadres in medical sector workers issue strike threats every two months due to delayed salaries,” Orata said.